


Help Came When Least Expected

by sungazer_117



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Codependency, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Have Issues (Naruto), Fix-It, Gen, Hatake Kakashi is a Troll, Memory Loss, Sage Uzumaki Naruto, Teamwork, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 84,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21620089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sungazer_117/pseuds/sungazer_117
Summary: In a last ditch effort to save his partner, Kurama tricks Naruto into sending himself and Kakashi back in time.  When they get there, will they be able to change the future for the better?On hiatus until life slows down and gives me time to breathe again.  Please wait for me just a little longer! -sungazer
Comments: 160
Kudos: 962





	1. I Will See You Again

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

Kakashi was tired. His body ached and his heart begged him to give in. His will was the only thing that forced him to keep going, but it was losing strength every day. Naruto was the only person keeping him alive when his body was deemed beyond repair under the hands of most medical nin. Naruto’s youthful spirit was all the energy the scarecrow needed to live through the pain.

He heaved himself over another hill, traipsing through the rugged forest landscape with a seemingly unclear path. He looked more like a drunk than the second in command of Konoha and right hand of the man who would have been Hokage had there been any people left to protect.

Kakashi knew where he was going. He was going to his death. His body was too far gone to be saved. His scars were too thick and too many in number to not ache when he walked and constrict his range of motion when he fought. He should have died a long time ago, but Kami-sama was always cruel to his favorites.

Despite the disparaging state of his being, there was no one left who could fight the man he was fated to face off against. Any who stood a chance had already been killed off. All except for Naruto, but he and Naruto were the de facto leaders of Konoha; if they were both lost to the man Kakashi was ready to lose to, the war would finally be over and Konoha would be on the losing side.

Kakashi tripped over a rock and fell down the opposite side of the hill he had just finished climbing. The exhaustion in his limbs prevented him from doing anything but roll and relax to avoid any serious blunt force trauma. He came to a stop at the bottom, resting in a patch of green, lively grass.

It appeared to be untouched by the war that had raged all around it for years now. The grass reminded him of Naruto. Kakashi chuckled bitterly at the thought. Naruto, the happy-go-lucky and knuckleheaded Genin brat was the only light left in Kakashi’s life. The silver-haired man would never have foreseen the future coming to pass as it had.

War ravaged the elemental nations, and all had been forced to pick sides. As it stood, there were two sides left fighting: Konoha and Amegakure. Konoha had lasted longer than most, but she was dying quickly. Amegakure had single-handedly declared war on the world, led by the Akatsuki, who stole the Jinchuuriki of all nations save one. They harnessed the power of the tailed beasts to its near fullest potential, and destroyed the nations they were taken from just to prove it.

Unfortunately for them, the only beast they had yet to claim was the strongest in existence. As a blunt kick in the teeth, that demon, more powerful than any other, was the partner of the one man who had managed to bond with his Bijuu more closely than any other. Their power was absolute when wielded without mercy, but vulnerable all the same.

Uzumaki Naruto. Keeper and protector of Kurama, the Kyuubi, last of the nine tailed beasts.

Kakashi held no false illusions in his mind about the outcome of the war they were sucked into. There would be no recovering for his home village. Konoha, even if she managed to survive the entire ordeal by some divine miracle, would never be the same.

Kakashi pulled himself to his feet when the soft click of a microphone being switched on sounded in his ear.

 _“Sensei, can you hear me?”_ Naruto’s voice called on the other end of the comm link. Kakashi let a rare smile slip onto his masked features as he continued on, slowly passing through the dense forests of the Land of Fire.

“When will you finally accept that I’m no longer your sensei, Naruto?” he chided lightly, his single eye scanning the surrounding area intently. Naruto scoffed in his ear.

 _“You’ll always be my sensei, you pervert,”_ he admitted fondly. Kakashi could hear the sadness in his student’s voice. He felt the breeze brushing over his shoulders, and he knew that Naruto had sent it just for him.

“Are you watching me still? You have other things to be doing, Naruto,” Kakashi scolded without any heat behind his words. He took silent comfort in the company. Kakashi had been close to death many times in his life, but to be accepting of it, to know that there was no possible chance he would live to see his only remaining student, his only remaining friend, was difficult. Kakashi would give his life in a heartbeat if it meant saving Naruto, it was the biggest reason he was able to put one foot in front of the other without collapsing. If he couldn’t, Naruto would die without question. This way, if Kakashi could accomplish his final mission, there was a chance that Naruto would live. His voice flooded over Kakashi yet again, giving him warmth and energy, even from many miles away.

 _“You drugged me last night and tied me to the pole in my command tent so I wouldn’t follow you. What the hell am I supposed to do?”_ he bit out dryly. Over in the remnants of the village, Naruto was sitting on the floor with a microphone and earpiece attached to his head. Kakashi had been kind enough to leave him with one. His hands and elbows were bound tightly behind him with braided wires around the only steel pole in the tent and away from all tables with weapons on them. It would take even the Jinchuuriki a little effort to get out of his restraints.

“If I hadn’t done that, you wouldn’t have let me go,” Kakashi reasoned. Naruto growled at him, but the noise soon died away to be replaced by a small sigh.

_ “I don’t want you to be alone, sensei. I know how bad the loneliness is, and we both know what you are facing. I don’t want you to be there by yourself.” _ Kakashi shook his head, stepping over a large log that had fallen over the path. Naruto had yet to accept that his sensei was going to die. His heart was larger than the Hokage Monument, and his hope burned brighter than the sun, but the silver haired shinobi heard the sadness in his pupil’s voice.

“Hey, Naruto, remember that time you were playing with a rubbery chakra ball and got your hand stuck in it for an entire day?” Kakashi said out of nowhere. Naruto couldn’t help but chuckle.

_ “If I remember right, Sasuke’s hand got attached to mine. That was so embarrassing! We fell off a waterfall and kissed, it was gross!” _ he laughed with genuine happiness. Kakashi was doubly proud of that laugh. He was proud of himself for successfully making his leader even a little less despondent, but he was also proud of Naruto. After everything that had happened to them, their friends, their home, he hadn’t forgotten how to laugh.

“I believe you two kissed quite frequently during your Genin years. Some of us believed you were secretly together,” Kakashi pointed out nonchalantly, earning another chuckle.

_ “Don’t remind me, sensei. Kami-sama sure did have his fun with us,” _ he sighed.

They talked of trivial things as Kakashi continued his journey. With every step, Kakashi’s body became heavier. With every step, he drew closer to death.

Naruto’s voice filled his mind even as Kakashi fought through the lower class shinobi who dared to block his path. Naruto talked of the old days when he was still a green shinobi learning about teamwork from a habitually late sensei who read porn in public.

He lamented briefly that he never got the chance to marry or have kids, and that Kakashi didn’t get the chance either, but he turned around the one-sided conversation all on his own. Naruto described a future that Kakashi knew would never come to pass, where Konoha would be able to rebuild herself and flourish once more. He dreamed about living with a family, probably just Kakashi, actually. He was the closest thing to family the blond had.

The scarecrow had entered the enemy’s main tower and was rapidly scaling the floors, headed straight for the top. Naruto spoke of a bright future that they could share. Kakashi focused on the part where they would spend it together. There was no lust in their bodies for one another. The love they shared was pure, that of two people close in spirit, yet physically driven so far apart because of the war. All of their time together was cherished.

He came to the top floor of the tower and his opponent stood before him. Naruto’s voice was given priority over the monologuing villain. Kakashi drew up his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan in his left eye. It came to life when asked and immediately tapped into Kakashi’s remaining strength. He didn’t have long.

_ “Remember that time we spent the whole day trying to take off your mask, just to see what your face looks like?” _ A hearty laugh. Kakashi was unable to dodge a handful of the hundred shuriken thrown his way.

_ “What about the time you dressed up like a photographer and helped all of us Genin sneak into ANBU headquarters to find your own shinobi files?”  _ A quiet chuckle. This time, his enemy took the hit, a long vertical gash in his chest, courtesy of Kakashi’s tanto blade. He had picked up the habit of using it again during the last few months of the war.

_ “There was one time when we actually managed to steal the Icha Icha books from your house. You were so mad at us! I don’t think I’ve ever had to run faster in my life.” _ There was an indistinguishable noise that could have been a sniffle from the other end. Kakashi was caught from behind, and his left arm was severed at the shoulder. He growled at the unique pain that came with it.

_ “I think my favorite memory of us was when we got to go to that fireworks festival near the Capitol. It was just the four of us… you, me, Sakura and Sasuke. We sat on one of the buildings and ate popsicles and watched the fireworks. I’d never seen anything like it. It was so pretty, Kakashi-sensei.” _ He was crying, but he was trying so hard not to let his companion hear him. Kakashi heard it, however, even above the noise generated by his Raikiri. His chakra coils were no longer balanced with only one arm and all of his chakra went into that final attack as he surged forward with a guttural roar. It landed square in the enemy’s chest, and light exploded around Kakashi.

He fell to the ground, completely drained and half-conscious. He saw the mangled body of his opponent lying across the room. Kakashi smirked, content that he managed to take the bastard with him to the other side.

“I’m tired, Naruto… so tired,” he whispered, unaware of the unusual chakra leaking out of his dead foe. Naruto was not unaware, however, and screamed at him to move.

_ “Get up, Sensei! Move, damnit! Something’s wrong! I can still feel him in there with you, please get out of there… please… I can’t lose you too,” _ he cried pitifully, pulling hard against the bindings that restrained him. Kakashi felt tears falling from his eyes, both of them, for once. After endless fighting and losses mixed in with a few sparse wins, the sunny blond had never once lost his hope, his confidence. Konoha needed that from him, and he gave it to them, but there was no more Konoha. Naruto had finally cracked. Kakashi had never wanted to be alive to witness the day his student lost his ever abounding faith in the order of the world.

In that moment, Kakashi’s regret hit a peak. He wished he didn’t have to break the heart of the only person left in his life that he would admit he loved. He wished he could prevent the world from spiraling out of control in the first place.

Many miles away, Naruto was suffering the same fate. His heart ached as he listened to Kakashi’s duel. His body flinched every time the scarecrow’s body jerked violently with every blow it was forced to take. He saw it all with his sage mode, with his all-feeling eyes. He felt Kakashi’s pain and his fatigue. Naruto felt the evil within the enemy, and the tiny flame that was flickering desperately to stay lit inside of Kakashi.

Naruto felt regret for the way their world ended up. He wished to change it as well. He wished to have spent more time with Kakashi before the end. He may not have been fighting himself, but Naruto knew that if Kakashi died, he would follow soon after. He wouldn’t take his own life and reach the same end as Kakashi’s father. Naruto would wait until the Fates decided he had had enough punishment and smote him out of existence.

As one half lay dying in body, the other half was losing its soul.

**“Naruto, do you want to live again with him?”** a fond voice asked gently. He too was deeply affected by Kakashi’s imminent death and the state of the world in which they lived. There was no future for them anymore. Kurama’s mind was made up. Naruto nodded without hesitation.

“I do, Kurama, more than anything I want another chance with you and Kakashi-sensei by my side,” he decided. The great fox nodded. He quickly set to work preparing for the jutsu.

**“Go to him, Naruto. Use my chakra, you need his body if this is going to work,”** Kurama instructed vaguely. Naruto shook his head.

“I don’t understa-” Kurama filled his chakra system with energy without warning. The rush was sudden, but not unwelcome. The fox’s chakra blended perfectly with his sage mode chakra, leaving Naruto’s body incredibly strong. Raw energy thrummed underneath his skin.

**“You must hurry, Naruto. If this works, we can save him,”** he explained, but what was said was enough.

Naruto flexed his wrists and broke through the wires as if they were made of paper. Then he was gone, out of the hidden tent and tearing through Fire county, all in order to be with his dying mentor.

Kakashi overheard Naruto’s half of the interaction, but he didn’t want his cute little student to die before his time. He knew the thought was obsolete, but he couldn’t help the protective streak that blossomed in his chest. Naruto was approaching faster than any other human being could hope to travel. A few minutes passed and Kakashi could already feel him tickling the edge of his senses.

“Naruto… don’t… you can’t die… what about… Konoha?” he asked weakly, silently thankful that his mic still worked.

_ “Put a sock in it, sensei! You shouldn’t be talking. Save your strength for now; I’m coming,” _ was the blond man’s response. Kakashi’s mind was the only part of him that protested anymore. His heart was selfish, his heart wanted Naruto.

“Naruto-” he was cut off by an angry snarl.

_ “There is no Konoha, Kakashi! Our home is not even a shadow of what it used to be. I know you believe the same. Stay with me now, I’m almost there,” _ he reassured, pumping his legs as fast as he was able. Kakashi smiled despite the pain that coursed through his body to the very depths of his soul. He coughed up some blood, but it was sticking to his mask. He was having a hard enough time breathing without the added assistance.

Using his only remaining hand, Kakashi tried to pull down his mask. He stopped when his fingers came into view. They were black and burnt horribly by the amount of chakra that had surged through his arm for the Raikiri that finally killed the enemy. Kakashi’s whole body was numb, he hadn’t felt it.

The fingers were stiff, but not immovable, and Kakashi managed to work off his mask and breathe in some air that was tainted with blood and metal, rather than just double the normal dose of blood. Naruto came moments later. He appeared in the doorway of the tower’s final level, and Kakashi was understandably happy to see him.

The blond walked right past him, however, and thrust his hand through the body of Kakashi’s last opponent. He had just enough life left in him to crawl towards Kakashi, intent on killing him. As soon as the deed was done, the air felt lighter, cleaner. The scarecrow was too far from reality to have noticed the dark chakra trying to squeeze his body to a quick death.

“Can you hear me, sensei?” Naruto asked him gently, kneeling at his side and cupping one side of his exposed face. The blond didn’t have the heart to make a joke about seeing his face for the first time. Kakashi groaned in response.

“You… called me… Kakashi,” he pointed out with a gurgling laugh. Naruto smiled. Tears gathered in his eyes, but it was not the right time for him to cry. It pained him to see his only remaining friend in such a state of being.

“What now, Kurama? What do we do now?” he asked. The Fox was already stirring.

**“You need to connect your chakra with Kakashi’s. He can’t mold chakra right now so you need to tap into his system and bring his out for him. In the meantime, I’m drawing a seal in your mind. When I’m done, I want you to draw it on Kakashi. With your chakra in his body, I can activate them at the same time and I can give you two another chance,”** he explained. Naruto nodded, he understood, but he had no idea what Kurama meant by a second chance. He trusted in his partner, however.

A few minutes later, Naruto was able to draw the seal onto his sensei. Even with his extensive knowledge of fuinjutsu, Naruto had never seen something so complex. He had no idea what it was or what it would do to them.

“I’m done, Kurama. Are you ready?” he asked, locking eyes with Kakashi, who had enough strength to blink in order to show his understanding.

**“I’m ready, you brat, start pumping your chakra through Kakashi and into the seal. Listen to me while you’re doing so,”** he said, growing somber. Naruto’s throat was dry and his hands felt clammy.  **“I have never known a host that has been kinder than you. You’ve helped me let go of the hate that ruled my being, and I am proud to be your partner and your friend.”**

“Kurama…” Naruto said, fear creeping into his voice, but he wasn’t allowed to speak just yet.

**“I’m afraid that I will not make the journey back with you, Naruto. This seal will use up all of my chakra, and there’s no way I could exist where you’re going anyways,”** he admitted, though Naruto was confused about their destination. He held onto the fact that Kurama would die.

“I can’t leave you behind! You can’t sacrifice yourself for me!” he protested. A rough hand brushed his face. Looking down, he saw Kakashi staring up at him.

“He has made his choice… trust in him and respect… his decision,” he rasped. Naruto bit his lip but he bowed his head in submission.

**“I’m ready to activate the seal, Naruto, are you two ready?”** Kurama asked one last time. Naruto nodded his head, closing his pretty blue eyes.

“We’re ready, Kurama,” he whispered. The pain that immediately followed was enough to make Naruto collapse beside his sensei. Neither would allow themselves to scream as liquid fire coursed through their veins.

The world grew bright. Naruto clung to Kakashi’s side, refusing to let him go. The ground shook and Naruto felt weightless. Kakashi was having a hard time feeling anything, but his internal sense of orientation, what was up and what was down, was out of control. The blood rushing in Naruto’s ears was louder than anything else. The only thing that grounded him was the hand that gripped Kakashi’s ripped shirt. His mind was wheeling and there were too many sensations everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

The world went dark and everything stopped.

**“You might never remember this life… or me… but it’s been fun, kid. I will see you again.”**


	2. Alone in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Somewhere in the Land of Fire

Kakashi opened his eyes to see a mop of blond hair in his peripheral vision. Minato was completely still, but his eyes were open. Silent breathing next to him told them that Rin and Obito were also awake. Something was definitely wrong if it woke up all four of them. Usually it was just Minato and Kakashi who were perceptive enough to notice when the winds changed.

Minato felt around the area with his chakra, but there was nobody hiding nearby. The entire atmosphere felt different. He sat up once he was sure there was nobody waiting to ambush them. He signaled to his team to be ready for anything. Minato didn’t like the feeling he was getting from the trees that surrounded them.

“Sensei…” Rin started, but Kakashi stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. Minato was still trying to figure out what was wrong. Obito stepped on some dried leaves and the sound of them crunching under his foot was the answer. The forest was silent. The animals and insects that should have serenaded them with ambient noise were nowhere to be found. Not even the wind rustled the trees like it should have. Everything was still.

“Pack up camp. Quickly, everyone,” he instructed. In less than a minute, Team Minato was ready to mobilize. They were all trained to move silently, but the eerie forest that surrounded them made it seem like every footfall was accompanied by an explosion of noise.

“Minato-sensei… where are we going?” Obito whispered, sticking close to his teacher. They all were, for that matter, even Kakashi was unsettled. Whatever was weighing down on the forest was starting to put a strain on them as well. The blond felt sadness in his heart, and his will was failing him.

“I don’t know… I don’t know what’s happening, Obito,” he admitted. “Just stay close to me, all of you,” he ordered. His students were unsure of what to say. Their sensei always had a plan. He always knew what to do. They were taken by surprise when Minato suddenly fell to his knees, hunching over.

“Sensei!” Rin hissed, kneeling beside him. Her eyes widened considerably when she saw his face, and she took a step back. Kakashi and Obito quickly ran around to see for themselves what was wrong.

“Minato… sensei?” Kakashi asked, at a loss for words. Their leader was crying, his face a mask of despair. The man’s eyes stared right through them, and he stumbled to his feet, shoving past his students and making for the denser trees. Kakashi reacted on instinct, leaping on Minato and sending him to the ground. The Chunin held up two fingers in front of the man’s face.

“Kai,” he grunted, but there was no genjutsu to dispel. Kakashi growled in frustration. “Wake up sensei! What the hell is wrong with you?” he yelled. Obito and Rin could only watch in astonishment. Obito heard movement to his left, in the direction that their teacher had made a dash for, and drew a kunai. Rin noticed and followed his lead.

“Kakashi! I think there’s something over here,” he said to the silver haired Chunin. Kakashi dragged Minato along behind him, seeing as the man was not putting up a fight. What they found was not what they expected to find.

They were not alone like they had believed. A boy with bright yellow hair, likely a few years older than the Chunin team, was unconscious and moaning softly in his sleep. Team 7 might have thought it was Minato if their leader wasn’t being toted around by Kakashi. Based on the boy’s fitful sleep, they deduced that he was having a nightmare.

The thin trees that surrounded him were bent at unusual angles to form an overhang around his still form. It was as if the forest was there to protect him from the physical world, but the land’s sadness was only magnified by the knowledge that it couldn’t help the boy.

“Is it just me or do you guys feel… down?” Rin asked softly, scuffing her feet on the ground and looking at her sandals. Obito nodded slowly, feeling the unwavering grip of whatever entity had taken their sensei already.

“I feel cold,” Obito whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

“We’re never gonna make it, are we?” Kakashi muttered, dropping Minato altogether and wandering away from the others with shaking limbs. The three Chunin fell to the ground, curling in on themselves as darkness overtook their souls.

Minato had many thoughts passing through his mind. He felt the wrongness of the air that surrounded them, but he couldn’t pinpoint the source of the contamination. There was so much at stake, but he struggled to will himself to do anything about it. He thought of his failures. Memories of his life flashed through his eyes. The darkness had started creeping into him long before it could reach his students.

He thought of Kushina, his girlfriend. They would never be able to have the wedding that they wanted and a baby afterwards. They were waiting for the war to end, but it seemed like it never would. The war would last forever, and even if they had a child, it would grow up in the midst of a bloody battle that would never cease.

_‘Kushina,’_ Minato thought, saying her name over and over again in his mind. He frowned, realizing why his thoughts kept circling back to his wife. _‘Kushina would kill me if I died in the middle of the forest. What am I doing? Where’s my team?’_ he thought rapidly, and the spell was lifted.

Minato’s eyes snapped open and he leapt to his feet. Unbeknownst to him, his chakra flared around him in a bright wave of blue energy. He found his three Chunin sprawled out on the ground in front of an unconscious man. Minato soon identified the source of the stillness in the air and the waves of negativity that assaulted his team without end. He pulled a seal out of his weapons pouch and dashed towards the blond. He stuck it on the teen’s head and watched the pain fade from his features and peace settle on his young face. Minato was astounded to see the red marks around his eyes and on his forehead. It all made sense, but at the same time it didn’t.

The air became lighter, and life started once more. The insects buzzed as if nothing had happened to them. His students roused themselves and sat up abruptly, looking to their teacher.

“What the hell just happened?” Kakashi asked quietly, deeply shaken by the thoughts that ran rampant through his mind. Thoughts of his father. Thoughts of suicide. His hands were bunched up in the grass to hide his trembling fingers. Minato was unable to answer right away.

“I need to figure it out myself, I’m afraid, but I know where to start,” he said. Rin stepped closer to the stranger, more confident now that her sensei was back to his normal self.

“What about him, Sensei? What should we do?” she asked. Minato looked down at the boy and made his decision. They were in the middle of a war, and the power the young blond had was unprecedented. Minato would be taking him, and his unknown ambitions, right into the heart of Konoha, but he was willing to take the risk.

“Is that a Konoha forehead protector?” Obito said curiously, pointing to the fading symbol partially hidden by the teen’s hair. Minato was even more determined to unravel the newfound mystery.

“We’re bringing him with us back to the village. Kakashi, summon your fastest ninken. We need to warn the Hokage that we’re bringing home a guest.”

#### Konoha

Minato was incredibly lucky to find both Jiraiya and Tsunade had stopped by the village for a visit while his team was returning from their mission. They were in the Hokage’s office when Pakkun came flying in the door with an urgent missive from Team Minato. Jiraiya had reverse-summoned Minato with one of his Hiraishin seals at once. Upon arrival, he promptly dumped a blond man covered in blood onto his sensei before disappearing with a flash of yellow.

He returned a few seconds later with his three students. Of the three kids, Kakashi was the only one who managed to keep himself from sticking his head out the Hokage’s window to throw up the contents of his stomach. Obito and Rin were polite enough not to spill their vomit in their leader’s office.

Tsunade took command after that and had the kid in a bed with fluids pumping through his veins as she looked over his minor wounds. The blond was relatively uninjured, but he was suffering from severe chakra exhaustion and had deep cuts on his wrists, likely from a more rigid binding material. His body, which should have been thrumming with life, was like an empty shell which was unsettling at best for the medic. His clothes were also soaked through with blood. Where it came from was just another question to be added to the list for when the mysterious kid finally woke up.

When Tsunade was satisfied with his state of health, she took a step back and gave Minato a dressing-down for bringing an unknown man, potentially a powerful shinobi spy, into the village. Minato was solemn throughout the whole ordeal. He turned to Jiraiya afterwards and asked about the nature of senjutsu, much to the surprise of the two Sannin.

Once he was definitely sure that he had no other explanation for what he saw, Minato sat on his thoughts until the Hokage arrived. The Sandaime had asked for Minato’s students to remain with him in his office to give Obito and Rin a chance to finish emptying their stomachs, but also to get their accounts on what happened in the forest.

The Sandaime’s face told the occupants of the room that the talk did not go well. He asked Minato for his own take on the story, and the first thing he said was what was weighing the heaviest on his mind.

“The boy is a sage.”

“What do you mean he’s a sage, Minato? This little brat? That’s impossible,” Jiraiya scoffed. His blond student was as serious as ever. The worried look on the young man’s face served to sober Jiraiya. They continued to watch Tsunade check over the boy with her medical jutsu.

“Do you have any proof, Minato-kun,” Hiruzen sighed, gaze drifting to the boy who slept peacefully in the stark white hospital bed. The dark lines of the seal on his forehead indicated that his sleep was not voluntarily peaceful.

“It was strange but when I placed the seal on him, I saw red marks around his eyes and a red V on his forehead. They were never open, so I couldn’t see his irises, but I believe it also explains what happened to me and my team. What did they tell you happened?” he asked. Hiruzen pulled a pipe out of his robes, ignoring the glare Tsunade shot him for smoking in a hospital.

“Their stories were the same. You collapsed shortly after running off towards the stranger. Kakashi-kun stopped you and your team investigated. They all felt uncontrollable grief and despair washing over them until it vanished when you forced the boy into a deeper sleep,” he summarized. Minato nodded, holding his chin in his hand.

“I remember hearing him moaning. As we walked deeper into the forest I noticed that everything was silent. There were no animals and no insects around to make noise. I felt my thoughts deteriorating and my will to figure out the problem slipping away. The energy and the happiness of my world were being sucked out of me, and I believed there was nothing I could do but lie down and die,” he admitted. Tsunade couldn’t help the involuntary shiver that danced up her spine. Jiraiya clued into Minato’s thought process.

“So you think that the kid was having a nightmare of sorts and unconsciously pulled sage energy from the area? Sages have the power to feel others’ emotions and to surround people with their own. I’ve never heard of it being used with negative emotions, most sages are at peace with themselves, but it’s not impossible,” he explained. Minato nodded.

“That was my thought exactly.” Tsunade frowned.

“But neither of you have taken on students who could have signed the toad contract. Is it possible that those old toads trained a new sage without telling you?” Jiraiya frowned.

“Again, possible, but I don’t think so. Not without telling us, at least. What Minato described, with the red V, doesn’t sound like the markings of a toad sage, however,” he said. Hiruzen hummed while he thought. His eyes drifted over to the strange kid.

“What can you tell me about him, Tsuna-chan?” Hiruzen asked, ignoring the second glare he received for addressing his student as he would have when she was still a young girl. Tsunade grabbed a clipboard off of the blond kid’s bed and sighed heavily.

“You might want to sit down for this, old man. I have a feeling you’re going to be surprised,” she said snarkily. “He had less than half a percent of a standard Chunin’s chakra supply in his body when you brought him in. I suspect that the sage chakra he was drawing in is the only thing that kept him alive long enough to make it to Konoha. He is slowly regaining his reserves, but I cannot predict how large they are. Other than that, he is in fine health. A little on the skinny side, but nothing to be worried about,” she finished, but it sounded like there was something more that she wanted to say. Jiraiya read his teammate like a book.

“What is it, Hime?” he asked her, recognizing her poorly concealed worry. She didn’t even punch him for the ‘hime’ comment. Without a word of context, she walked around to the blond’s bed and pulled back the covers. She moved the boy’s shirt to expose his stomach and her hands lit up blue with chakra. The moment she touched his skin, a heavy black seal appeared. The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.

“Are you serious?” Minato breathed, his mind immediately occupied by thoughts of Kushina. Jiraiya marched forward to examine it. After a few seconds, he gasped and called Minato over. The blond’s reaction was nearly identical. Tsunade and the Sandaime did not appreciate being left out

“What’s wrong?” Hiruzen asked. Jiraiya turned towards them, white as a sheet.

“This boy… his seal was meant for a Bijuu, but there’s nothing here. The seal is intact and activated on the inside and the outside. Not only that, but his chakra coils aren’t damaged at all,” he explained, though he was still skirting around the main point that needed to be made. Tsunade growled in response.

“What the hell does it mean, Jiraiya?!” she yelled. Minato was the one to answer her. His voice was quiet, but hard as stone.

“It means he could have been sent here to take Konoha’s. With the seal already activated and stable, all he has to do is open it and force the beast inside to complete the sealing process. If he is skilled enough, he could do it by himself.” Tsunade grew somber once more at that. The Sandaime tucked his pipe away in his robes.

“For now, we will keep him here in the hospital with an ANBU guard until he wakes up. I want to know the instant he shows signs of consciousness. As of this moment, you three are the only people allowed in here without my prior permission. Understood?” he asked seriously. The three shinobi bowed their heads in the affirmative. Before he could leave, his eyes landed on a couple forehead protectors that had been recovered from the boy when he was brought in. Hiruzen could only sigh, truly unsure of what was to come.


	3. First Impressions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

In the stillness of the aftermath of whatever jutsu Naruto had activated, Kakashi’s eyes slid shut as he felt the world collapsing around him. He could feel Naruto’s hands bunched up in his shirt and he made an effort to lift his arm and drape it around his last student.

_‘If all I can do is lie here, then the least I can do is keep us together for whatever comes next,’_ Kakashi swore to himself. He didn’t want them to be separated wherever it was that they were going to end up. They could face any challenge so long as they tackled it together.

_‘Together… together we can overcome anything. If that’s the truth… then why didn’t I bring him with me?’_ Kakashi’s thoughts darkened and his strength failed. Kakashi felt Naruto’s hands loosening their grip and the blond’s bright energy drifting farther and farther away from him. Kakashi struggled with his broken body to latch onto his limp form, but in the end he could do nothing but watch Naruto slip away from him.

Kakashi screamed the boy's name, momentarily pulled away from the darkest corner of his mind, but Naruto was out cold and Kakashi was too late. When the darkness found the aging shinobi, he was too vulnerable to resist. He had enough time to pray that Naruto would be alright, but afterwards he was lost with nobody left to hear his voice.

#### Training Ground 7

“What do you mean we can’t go and see him? We found him for crying out loud!” Obito whined, crossing his arms with a huff. Minato sighed.

“I’m sorry Obito, but the Hokage’s word is law. Besides, we still don’t know where he came from or if he has any negative relations to Konoha. Until we know more, you are safer staying away from him,” he decided finally. Rin looked just as unhappy as her teammate, but less pouty and vocal about it. Kakashi was expressionless, but there was something weighing heavily on his mind.

“Sensei, did yo-,” he started, but stopped before he could ask anything else. Kakashi didn’t know how to say what was on his mind without sounding crazy. Minato looked at him inquisitively.

“What is it, Kakashi?” he pressed, looking to learn anything he might have missed from his own memory of the stranger. They all leaned forwards with anticipation as the thoughts flashed behind Kakashi’s cold eyes. After another minute he shook his head.

“Nevermind, it’s nothing,” he said, settling for silence. Obito looked irritated.

“Seriously? You wind us up for some great big reveal and then say “it’s nothing”? What the hell, Bakashi!” he growled. The young Hatake whirled on his teammate.

“I said it was nothing you loser, get off my back,” Kakashi hissed. Obito leapt to his feet, ready to pounce on the silver haired boy but Minato smoothly inserted himself between them.

“That’s enough, boys. It seems like we’re ready for more teamwork training,” he decided, much to the ire of his two male students. As they settled into their exercises for the day, Kakashi couldn’t shake the thought that skulked about in the back of his mind. The thought that the blond, or at the very least something on him, smelled _very_ familiar. He couldn’t identify the specific scent, but it was too similar to his father’s to let go of.

#### Konoha Hospital

The blond man’s eyes slowly blinked open only to squint sharply as they needed more time to adjust to the brightness of the room. He was groggy, but strangely at peace. His world was a blur of color, and he wasn’t sure where he was. Looking down at himself, he noticed he was wearing hospital clothes. Frowning, he felt around on his head, searching for a familiar weight, though he wasn’t sure why there would be anything there. He was surprised to find a piece of paper, and even more surprised to realize that it wasn’t what he was looking for.

The blond tried to peel the sticker off, but his hand abruptly stopped moving without his consent. Looking up at his arm, he noticed that someone else’s hand was holding onto his wrist rather tightly. He didn’t appreciate that one bit. His deductive reasoning told him that the newcomer was not welcome.

“It’s not nice to manhandle people without their permission,” he bit out, growing more and more irritated when the hand refused to move. He followed the arm it was attached to until he was met with a mask that looked like a hawk. His mind wandered, struggling to remember how he knew the mask and why it was familiar. The one recurring thought he held onto was that he was in danger. The blond tried one last time to pull his wrist out of the stranger’s grip.

“Who are you?” he ground out, nails digging into his palms. He shook his head to rid himself of drowsiness, but to no avail. “Where am I?!” he shouted when there was no answer, surging up out of bed and engaging with Hawk. He ripped out his IVs and electrodes causing quite a stir among the hospital staff as one of their patients flatlined without warning. The three ANBU guards stationed within the room were forced to settle the doctors and contain the rowdy teenager at the same time.

“Why the hell am I here?” the blond called, dodging a fist meant for his face. He ducked and weaved under their attacks, guided by an invisible hand that controlled his limbs subconsciously. Reaching behind him for where his body told him a weapon would be, his hands came up empty. Cursing to himself, he refocused on the masked shinobi in front of him.

“Just let me go already!” he cried fruitlessly. He didn’t have enough strength to keep up with the guards. _‘If I wasn’t so tired I would have kicked their asses and been back with my sensei already.’_ His thoughts ground to a halt. _‘Sensei? Do I have a sensei?’_ he thought rapidly, too distracted to miss the kick that introduced him to the far wall of the room. His head lurched as confusion assaulted his being in time with the attacks of the shinobi that still surrounded him. The boy was starting to reach his limit.

He threw the men off of him, leaving them slumped momentarily against the walls. Rushing over to the only window in his room, he saw his own pale reflection in the window. His heart ached for some reason, seeing the whisker marks on his cheeks, and the fight left him.

As it was, the young man was soon pinned on the ground with his hands behind his back. “Get the hell off of me!” he choked out, anger and fear battling behind his eyes. His mind couldn’t process why he cared about some markings on his face and the overloading of his senses at the same time. Unbeknownst to him, the seal meant to pacify him was clouding his mental function, slowing him down in more ways than one. His instincts screamed at him to run, to escape because he was vulnerable and being vulnerable was dangerous. Giving in to his exhaustion and letting his subconscious rise completely to the surface of his being, he moved.

In that short amount of time he gathered what little energy he had stored within his body and surrounded himself with it to lash out at the ANBU holding him down. They were forced to let go as shimmering waves of chakra wrapped around their arms and left painful burns in their wake. Surging to his feet, the boy sped towards the window before anyone could intervene.

He smashed through the panes of glass, but the brightness of the sun made him dizzy and nauseous the moment his feet left solid ground. His return to consciousness left him with enough sense to relax his body as he hit the ground hard. The air left the blond’s lungs with a rough cough and he laid still, gasping for air as he struggled to command his body.

He wanted to stand up and run, but exhaustion was digging its talons deep into him. Nothing made sense and pain coursed through his body as fear settled over him. That fear inspired his body and his feet met the pavement.

_‘Come to me,’_ a voice called out to him, gentle and inviting. He ran without knowing his final destination. Villagers and other shinobi passed by him in a blur. The boy wasn’t aware enough of himself to realize that not only was he fast, he was abnormally so. He dodged all manners of villagers, street stands and even a few shinobi. When green surrounded him on all sides, he came to a stop and collapsed for good, lost to the dark. He fell asleep again to the soft whispers of the wind through the trees and the soothing words of a friend.

Minato sighed, emerging from behind a nearby gathering of trees. He paused when a stiff breeze blew around him, ruffling the leaves on the trees for just a moment before disappearing altogether. He approached the young teenager, frowning at the bruises and cuts he could see through the tears in the boy’s hospital clothes.

Kneeling to be closer to the blond, Minato blinked in surprise when a small fox popped its head out from behind the boy. Movement in the trees revealed sparrows and songbirds that had gathered to watch him. Squirrels and mice crept nearer from all directions, edging closer and closer to the unconscious figure. Back in the shadows, there were bigger, more dangerous beasts lying in wait. Minato became increasingly aware of the presence of sage energy in the air. It was elusive, remaining just out of his grasp, but it inspired a thought in him.

“I do not wish him harm,” Minato said to the gathered animals, feeling silly himself for taking such precautions. “I want to know more about him and where he came from,” he explained. The air stood still as the creatures weighed the sincerity of Minato’s words and the integrity of his character. They retreated soon after. Minato wondered what would have happened had he been found wanting.

Gently rolling the blond onto his back, he confirmed that there were red marks on his eyes. The boy was powerful enough to gather sage energy in his sleep and maintain the balance required to use it at the same time. Standing up straight with the boy gathered in his arms, Minato began the walk back to the village. The Jonin was lucky that he had already been in the hospital when the kid started making a mess. It was easy for Minato to make it to the room and follow through the broken window. Even he was impressed with the speed that the boy maintained while under severe strain and duress.

Hiruzen had arrived at the hospital with Jiraiya by the time Minato returned. The elder blond laid him gently in his bed while the nurses skittered about trying to reattach cables and monitors.

“What happened,” the Sandaime asked. He had called over Hawk, the first ANBU to apprehended the strange boy when he tried to physically take his seal off. Minato remained at the kid’s bedside and brushed some of the hair out of his face. The ANBU had already secured his hands with padded leather cuffs seeing as they didn’t want to reopen his injuries or damage him too severely with chakra suppressants in his already weakened condition.

Minato noticed the odd angle at which the young shinobi’s head laid in. He went to move it into a more comfortable position, but his hands hesitated when he noticed his eyes were still open. He followed the boy’s glassy-eyed gaze to the window where a nest of birds had settled in a nearby tree.

A few of them had popped over to the windowsill, watching them and roosting silently. Minato felt the potential for longing and a desire to be free, but from what exactly, it was hard to say. As he tilted the boy’s head back into an upright position, Minato watched the sparkle abandon his unseeing eyes, if it were possible to witness such a thing. He could not bear to see them so dull and lifeless. Reaching out to close them, Minato felt guilt weighing heavily on his heart. Once they were closed, he breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Minato?” Jiraiya asked quietly, placing his hand on the shoulder of his troubled student. The blond took great comfort in the gesture.

“His emotions are so raw, so pure. His connection to nature is stronger than anything I’ve seen before. Coupled with the fact that he’s a sage and can amplify feelings and emotions to a level that even normal shinobi can feel, he would make for a fearsome opponent. Despite all of the mystery surrounding his identity and where he came from, I can’t help but trust in his honesty. His very soul is pure, Jiraiya-sensei, that’s why his sage abilities are so strong. The animals in the Forest of Death were gathering around where he collapsed. What bothers me is that he has known loneliness as well. How can he be so unscathed after facing the world by himself?” Jiraiya wasn’t sure how to respond at first. His student brought up a very valid point.

“Perhaps he found the companionship and guidance he needed in order to continue on, and someone outside the village is looking for him,” he finally said, squeezing Minato’s shoulder. “Get out of here, Minato. Go spend some time with your girlfriend, or your students. Stop worrying about the kid,” Jiraiya ordered. Minato nodded his head and made his way to the door.

“Please let me know when he wakes up again, Jiraiya-sensei,” he requested politely before disappearing into the hallway. Minato didn’t realize that it would be nearly a week before the boy would wake again. Only one thought ran through the blond’s head before he could slip out of the hospital and back into a somewhat normal routine.

_‘Why does he feel so familiar…’_


	4. Loved By the Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Konoha Hospital- Six Days Later

This time when he opened his eyes he figured he knew what to expect. If he wanted to be released he had better try his hand at negotiating for it. Sitting up in his bed, he looked blearily around the room, but his gaze wouldn’t focus voluntarily or on command. If he concentrated, the buzzing in his head would lessen, but it was still a far cry from clarity.

“Can you please undo whatever this paper is doing to me? I can’t even see straight,” he asked with an unpleasant expression on his face. There was no certainty that they would take the seal but he didn’t show his surprise when an answer came.

“If I do, will you promise not to make another mess?” a deep voice grumbled from the other side of the room. Glancing over, the blond squinted at the face he saw. The seal was making his vision blurry, but the face was familiar to him in a way he didn’t understand. Jiraiya looked strong, confidence abounding around him. The older man kept his chakra contained with little effort, hiding his true capacity from the curious blond.

“I am sorry if I hurt anybody,” he offered with a bow of his head, vaguely remembering how he terrified the hospital staff when he broke through the window and fought with the masked shinobi. The aging man seemed to find the answer acceptable, perceiving the young teen’s genuine guilt and rose from his chair to approach the blond. The boy was patient and sat still while the white haired shinobi worked his magic on the paper seal on his forehead.

When it finally came off, it was as if a veil was lifted from his eyes, and the world around him started to make sense. He frowned, realizing that there was something wrong with his body. Something he couldn’t pinpoint right away, but there was a problem. The first thing he did was glance over at the window and the birds sitting in their nest. There was a big one that never left the nest, while another brought back food every now and then for her.

“Thank you,” he said to Jiraiya, who was eyeing him closely as if waiting for him to turn evil and start monologuing on the spot. The blond frowned again, looking around the room.

_ ‘Go to the window,’ _ a soft voice commanded him. At first, he was startled, but he quickly realized that the voice was more than just a voice. It was all encompassing, warming his heart and his mind. He could trust the voice, he had heard it before. He started climbing out of bed, but the Toad Sannin’s large hands held his chest down.

“Not so fast, kid. Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, the air about him bleeding suspicion. All of his previous good humor had evaporated. The teen was remarkably well-tempered compared to last time, Jiraiya noted. He gestured to the window.

“I want to get a breath of fresh air, it will help calm my mind,” he explained, still feeling the wrongness within him. The man seemed unimpressed.

“Do you seriously think I would give you such an easy chance to slip out the window and into the village again?” he asked lamely. The kid sighed, and the action made him age far more than he should have come across as. Exhaustion showed on every square inch of his body. It served to startle the older shinobi with the familiarity of the movements. The boy had been fighting for a long time.

“I’ll be completely frank with you, old man,” he started, making Jiraiya bristle with indignation. “I have no idea how I got here, or why I feel like utter shit. I don’t know how I fought those masked guys from earlier, but I’m scared and I can’t think straight enough to process what the hell is actually happening right now,” he revealed, speaking nothing but the truth. “I’m surrounded by strange people and places and I don’t know why I’m here or how I got here. I’d like a little fresh air to clear my head if you wouldn’t mind.” The man said nothing for a while before sighing himself.

He helped the boy out of his bed with a few gentle words of encouragement. He gestured at something with a wave of his hand and escorted him to the window with another ANBU that popped out of the ceiling. While the blond stood there, basking in the light and warmth of the sun, his chest swelled with a breath of the natural air and he allowed himself a moment to relax. Hospitals smelled like chemicals, but the outdoors gave off the powerful scent of abounding life. Jiraiya couldn’t help but admire how peaceful he looked.

_ ‘Who am I?’ _ the teen asked the voice in his head, wondering if it would respond to him whenever asked. Silence greeted him, and he was disappointed. In that moment, he saw his face reflecting in the window’s glass. The emptiness he felt didn’t make sense and he didn’t want to feel its influence. Nothing more was said and eventually Jiraiya was shooed out by the medical staff after his charge was returned to his bed.

Jiraiya returned to the strange boy’s room late that afternoon. He found him standing by the window yet again, seemingly deep in thought. It was only when he was standing right beside him and cleared his throat to draw the boy’s attention that he was noticed. The smile he received was small, but the golden light of a fading day was being cast upon his face and made the gesture seem all the more special. Jiraiya froze for a moment when the light blurred out enough of the boy’s features and left behind a visage that was stunningly similar to his own student’s.

“Thank you… for letting me have this,” the teen whispered softly, closing his eyes and turning back into the warmth that the light of the sun offered. Jiraiya was broken from his spell when the sound of the boy’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Minato’s voice was deeper than the strange kid’s. One more glance told him that the boy looked content.

“What’s your name, kid? I’m Jiraiya,” he said, introducing himself without the usual dance number. The blond’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he put his back to the window and leaned up against the sill. The expression faded as quickly as it came and he closed his eyes.

_ ‘Do I have a name?’ _ he asked the voice, just another question to follow the hundreds he had already asked and received no answer to. He was surprised when energy filled his veins and even more light warmed his back.

_ ‘Uzumaki… Uzumaki Naru… Naru…’ _ the voice whispered to him, and the smile returned to the teen’s face. Jiraiya watched the gentle rays of light washing over his skin, but his face was still masked with shadows.

_ ‘I guess that’s me,’ _ he thought with some trepidation, unsure of what was wrong this time. “My name is Naru. Uzumaki Naru,” he said happily, turning his face just enough for the light to cast a halo about his head, illuminating his enthusiastic grin. Jiraiya had never seen somebody like the kid standing in front of him. He had never been in the presence of a human being embraced so wholly by the natural world. A being touched so intimately by the light.

The excitement quickly faded from his eyes as Naru remembered to ask about where exactly he was. The ANBU wouldn’t answer his questions and nobody else had been by to visit him. Jiraiya was surprised to find himself slightly disappointed when the light was replaced by more shadow.

“Where am I?” he asked quietly. Jiraiya’s head was still spinning over the Uzumaki bit, but he found the words to answer.

“You’re in Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Where are you from?” he asked in return. Naru shrugged, but a hint of a smile perked up the corners of his mouth.

“I don’t know where I’m from or where I belong,” he started, turning around again to lean on the windowsill with bound wrists settled in front of him. Jiraiya had forgotten for a moment that Naru was still a stranger with an unknown agenda. He would have to be more careful.

Naru wiggled his fingers for the birds that had alighted on the other side of the glass, content to sit and watch him. Naru had tried to open the window to see them earlier, but the ANBU guards had quickly put a stop to that plan. “I’m not sure where I belong, but I have a feeling… I think I’m meant to be out there,” he said, gesturing to the whole village and everything beyond her walls. Jiraiya hummed in thought.

“What makes you say that?” he asked. Naru smiled again, his smile so reminiscent of sunshine.

“I feel every breath of the earth, Jiraiya-san. When I close my eyes I hear her song and smell the winds that carry different scents from the forests. She is comforting to me when I am uncertain about whatever situation I find myself in. Speaking of which, how did I get here?” Jiraiya supposed he could answer the question seeing as the blond kid had been fairly cooperative in answering his own. Establishing a good relationship with someone who seemed to be as black and white honest as Naru seemed like the best way to earn his trust and his story.

“We found you out in the forests near the outermost border of the Land of Fire. You were unconscious and your body was drained of chakra. Do you remember any fighting? We also found some nasty cuts on your wrists. Were you kidnapped or held hostage at some point?” he asked. Naru had to rack his brain for a second in an attempt to dredge up the memories, but nothing came forth. He shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Jiraiya-san. There’s not much that I can hold onto right now,” he admitted, lowering his eyes to the street below his window. Jiraiya clapped him on the shoulder, letting out his own sigh.

“It’s alright, brat. We’ll help you through this,” he offered. Naru didn’t shy away from his touch. If anything, the boy leaned into his hand, seeking comfort from another human being rather than remaining satisfied solely with the gentle murmurings of nature. Jiraiya was not unaware of the blond’s longing.

“Would you like to take a walk with me, Naru? You’re due for a visit to the Hokage, but I’m willing to take you on the scenic route rather than carting you there over my shoulder while you’re technically still in recovery,” Jiraiya offered with a smile. Naru felt himself eager to spend more time with the aging shinobi. In his presence, Naru’s racing thoughts and rampant confusion seemed to fade away. He nodded and hope took root within him. Hope for answers and the truth about his own origins.

“Alright then, let’s get you changed out of those drab hospital clothes,” he started, pulling a new set of clothes out of a sealing scroll for the boy to try on. “I’m not sure what will fit, so I brought a few diffe-” Naru was listening intently when a loud presence slammed into his senses and barged into their room moments later. He cried out in pain.

“ _ Jiraiya! _ Who the hell said you could disturb my patients’ rest?!” Tsunade thundered menacingly, nearly tearing the door off its hinges. Jiraiya was holding his hands up in a placating gesture when he noticed Naru was no longer beside him. The sound of weapons being drawn and a quiet hiss in response served to tell him exactly where the boy was.

The blond had ripped himself away from Jiraiya and the window to press himself into a corner. Naru was crouched low with one hand down on the ground to steady his tight, aching limbs. Evidently, he had managed to cut or snap the cuffs binding his wrists so he may fight unhindered. The other was flexing like a pair of claws, ready to strike Tsunade should she come too close. He was as white as a sheet and his entire demeanor read as that of a frightened animal.

The fear on his face and in his widened eyes was unmistakable. He blinked rapidly, a nervous tick triggered in response to the Slug Sannin. If he could back up into the corner any farther, he would. The most shocking aspect of his appearance, however, were the bright red markings on his face that darkened his eyelids and made a sharp V on his forehead. His pupils had been elongated into vertical slits against the pretty blue of his eyes. Naru’s sage mode had been activated, and with his hands free, he could attack them at will.

“Easy there, Naru-kun. She won’t hurt you,” Jiraiya said to him, taking the lead and trying to ease the boy back over to his own bed. Just as he was gaining the boy’s trust, Tsunade had barged in at the worst possible time. The only unexpected benefit to the situation was being able to see Naru’s senjutsu in person.

_ ‘He couldn’t have been meditating to gather sage chakra while we were talking, I would have noticed! The ANBU guard would have stopped any suspicious behaviour themselves but still, sage chakra has to be used or constantly focused after it’s gathered or else the user is transformed into an animal. Can he seriously activate sage mode on command? This kid keeps blowing my mind,’ _ Jiraiya thought as he took in the whole situation. If Naru was constantly using sage abilities to an extent, it could explain why he reacted so violently to Tsunade. If he didn’t sense her until she was practically on top of them, her anger and her strong will would have struck him like a hammer.

“What’s your problem, brat? Never seen a real woman before?” Tsunade challenged, turning towards the blond with her hands on her hips. Truth be told, Naru was genuinely startled by her appearance. His blue eyes pierced her body, seeking out any familiar details that would tell him whether or not he knew her. He came up empty.

“Enough, Hime, we don’t need him riled up again,” Jiraiya scolded her, moving to stand between Tsunade and the skittish boy. Once Naru had a second to realize the situation was not dire and relatively under control, he noticed that another person had entered the room.

The blond man took his breath away. Something about him was incredibly familiar and Naru knew he was important. Strong, too. The next emotion to follow was anger, though Naru could not decipher why he felt so upset about his presence. Regardless of what he was feeling, he could not act on impulse and put his own life in jeopardy.

_ ‘Peace friend… calm yourself… the danger… has passed,’ _ his unseen companion whispered in his ears. The gentle encouragement managed to calm him down enough to creep slowly out of the corner to avoid any sudden movements that could be seen as hostile. The heavy red markings disappeared from his face and he forced himself to relax. He stood up straight and wrung his hands nervously.

“I’m sorry for my reaction, but you surprised me,” he said blandly, unable to brush off the last few minutes like nothing had happened. Tsunade scoffed.

“You’re a real bright one, aren’t you?” she drawled, earning sour looks from both Minato and Jiraiya. The blond teen flushed at the comment and turned his eyes down to the floor as embarrassment burned the tips of his ears. Jiraiya sighed.

“Come now, Naru-kun. Let’s get you dressed so we can pay the old man a visit,” he suggested, hoping to cheer up the blond. Naru nodded slowly, unable to hide the trembling in his hands. His movements were sluggish as he began to disrobe himself, either oblivious or uncaring that there were more people in the room than just he and Jiraiya.

All three were treated to a good view of a terrible scar on the boy’s chest. The flesh had regrown around it in a swirling pattern, distorting muscles and stretching the skin to its limit. According to Tsunade, the scar was several years old before it appeared under her hands. There was nothing she could do to fix it.

“Where did you get that scar on your chest?” Minato asked him out of the blue. Naru’s heart skipped a beat and he stumbled while trying to put on a pair of pants. Jiraiya’s steady hand on his shoulder was a welcome help. Naru ignored how weak he looked and felt, needing another man to help him put his pants on when he couldn’t do it on his own.

_ ‘You loved each other… and he almost took you from us…’ _ the elusive voice whispered to him. Minato was still waiting for an answer, as was every other person in the room. The boy frowned, the expression tightening his face in an unpleasant manner.

“It was given to me by someone I loved,” he answered simply. After another minute or two, he was dressed and ready to leave. Naru was compliant and offered his bandaged wrists as one of the ANBU dropped from the ceiling with a new pair of cuffs. Jiraiya stopped the shinobi, however, with a shake of his head.

“That won’t be necessary. We’ll draw enough attention in the village as is, I trust that Naru-kun will behave himself for this little excursion,” Jiraya said, convincing the guard to return to his post. Tsunade pinned him down with a fierce glare that Naru was not willing to return while Minato regarded him with a supreme amount of neutrality to hide his adamant curiosity as they walked through the narrow halls of the hospital.

“Hey there, my name is Minato. Have you ever been to Konoha before? Or any of the other Hidden Villages?” Minato asked Naru when they finally emerged into the sunlight after leaving the cold, sterile building. Naru was once again basking in the warmth of the sunlight, arms wrapped around his shoulders with a stupid grin plastered on his face as his body was treated with the sunlight that it had been denied. He shrugged at Minato.

“The village feels familiar, but I’m not sure how,” he began before speculating further. “Maybe it’s the people in the streets, or seeing shinobi walking around. I’ve seen this before, but I couldn’t tell you where, I’m afraid,” he admitted. Minato patted him on the back and sent him a gentle smile. His hand dropped to the small of the blond teen’s back to help guide him past an incoming group of pedestrians. Naru’s cheeks twinged with blush at the action.

The boy’s brow was furrowed as they walked through the village. His eyes never settled on the same spot for more than five seconds. Luckily, none of the villagers were treating them strangely in the presence of a doppelgänger who looked far too alike to Minato to be funny. The occasional citizen would greet the Sannin and Minato with cheerful good evenings and respectful nods.

When they turned down the last street to take them to the Hokage’s tower, Naru stopped dead in his tracks. Minato paused as well, whistling softly at Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were leading their party through the streets. They turned to find Naru staring up at the Hokage Monument with a perplexed look on his face.

“What is it?” Minato asked softly, cocking his head to the side. Naru squinted before shaking his head and continuing on with their walk. Minato was the only one to hear the words that fell out of his mouth as nothing more than a mumbled afterthought.

“Have there always been three faces? I could have sworn there were more than that,” he said to himself, scratching the back of his head absently. Minato’s eyes narrowed as he considered the implication of such a statement. Was Naru a poorly informed spy sent to infiltrate the village under the guise of an amnesiac boy? Or was he genuinely misinformed about the number of Hokage that had served Konoha? He resolved himself to find an answer to those questions sooner rather than later.


	5. Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Somewhere in the Land of Earth- A Week Earlier

“Grandpa! There’s an old man on the bank over here! He’s not moving,” a young girl called, drawing the attention of her guardian. The aging man was immediately concerned that there was foot traffic anywhere near his property. He was located far from any usable trails and preferred it that way. It was how his land had managed to remain intact for the duration of the war that stretched between Earth and Fire Countries, swallowing up countless innocent lives in its wake.

“Rika-chan, where are you? Come back here!” he ordered quickly, wanting to make sure his granddaughter was alright. Her head popped out from behind some boulders just beside the shallow riverbed they had been traveling to. Rika quickly scaled the steep slope and the last few boulders that separated her from her grandfather and gave him a worried look.

“Is everything alright, Grandpa?” she asked softly, genuinely concerned to see his usual smile absent from his face. The old man nodded, bending at the knee and taking the girl by her shoulders.

“I want you to stay right here while I go and have a look at him, alright? I need to make sure he’s okay and I don’t want you to see anything scary, Rika-chan,” he said gently, kissing her nose to distract her from his worrying. She giggled cutely, but remembered that she was supposed to be pouting.

“But Grandpa I want to help. I’m eight years old already, that’s practically full grown! I can handle it!” she argued. The old man simply sighed, shaking his head with a smile.

“I know my dear, practically full grown, but trust Grandpa for a moment and stay here,” he ordered softly one last time before releasing her with a look that told her to behave. Rika nodded her head with a sigh of her own and sat down on a smaller boulder, waiting obediently for his return.

Akio steeled himself for anything as he descended the slope and rounded the bend where his granddaughter had supposedly found the body. He pulled out an old knife that he kept on hand for skinning animals. When he was a younger man he was a shinobi, and the blades on all of his weapons were never less than razor sharp. It had been many years since he had been forced to use one on another human being, however.

When he came to a stop beside the body he realized right away that the man he was looking at was alive, and a shinobi. Akio understood why his granddaughter thought he was an old man, he had silver hair underneath all of the dirt and grime that had gotten stuck in it. Taking in the poor man’s injuries, and his missing arm, Akio wondered how he was still breathing at all.

Embarrassingly enough, Akio noticed that the man wore a Konoha forehead protector last after looking over every other inch of the man’s body. Suddenly, Akio recognized who he was looking at and his heart skipped a beat before his blood pressure nearly shot through the roof.

“Rika-chan! Rika-chan!” he shouted, running back to the bottom of the hill. She had sprung up from her seat and awaited assignment of whatever task her grandpa needed her to complete. “Run home, quickly! Bring me the first aid kit, as fast as you can! Can you bring Taiki and Dai with you as well?” he asked. Rika nodded resolutely, understanding the urgency in the request.

She returned minutes later on the back of a large black dog that seemed to dwarf her skinny frame. She was carrying a case full of all of their medicinal supplies, flanked by another dog, smaller than the one she was riding, but white in color.

“Grandpa! I’m back! We’re coming down!” she shouted as the dogs slid their way down the incline, skillfully avoiding any sharp rocks. When they reached the bottom, Akio lifted her off of the great beast’s back as he immediately started issuing orders to them.

“Dai, Taiki, I need you to search the area for shinobi of any nation, do not engage but return to me at once if you find anyone lurking out there. When I’m done here I’ll need you to help me carry this man back to our home, understood?” he asked. The dogs both bowed their heads, careful not to respond verbally in case there were more shinobi skulking about. They disappeared into the surrounding landscape despite their bold coloring and carried out their appointed task.

“Grandpa, what’s going on? I’m starting to get scared,” Rika whispered softly, her hands trembling around the medical kit in light of her Grandfather’s unusual solemnity. Akio’s face softened and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her forehead and smoothing the hair out of her face.

“There is nothing to fear, Rika-chan. We need to move fast, my dear, and help this man get better. He is very wounded right now and it is our duty to save him,” he explained, opening the case and pulling out all manner of antiseptic, cleansing solutions and bandages.

“Who is he?” she asked quietly, wiping the sweat from her brow. Akio’s grave face lightened.

“He is an old friend. Now, grab that rag and wipe away any blood after I sterilize some of these wounds,” Akio instructed Rika gently as they cleaned the worst of the man’s wounds and wrapped them with sterile bandages. “Don’t worry, Sakumo, my friend, you are in safe hands now,” Akio whispered to the unconscious form underneath him as he and Rika worked in a silent tandem. Eventually they reached a point where Akio resummoned his hounds to help carry the wounded man back to their home. Luckily there were no other sightings of shinobi in the area, but the news just added another piece to a puzzle that Akio was nowhere close to solving.

Kakashi had been stuck in a long loop of nothingness, falling in endless circles for an indeterminable amount of time. He was finally roused by the call of a distressed voice, one that was foreign to him, but begged for his attention anyways.

His body felt weighted down, as if his bones had been replaced by lead when he was asleep. As his eye opened to take in his surroundings, he immediately realized that he wasn’t in the Land of Fire. The air was too dry and hot to be the humid forests that blanketed his home. The second thing he noticed was that he was in a poor cottage of some sort with simple furniture and sparse decorations. There was a small shrine on a nearby shelf, but his vision was too blurry to focus on the picture it was built around.

Sitting up fully, Kakashi’s chest heaved with the amount of effort needed to complete such a simple task. There was pain in his muscles and his joints, but it had been dulled by some kind of medication. Speaking of, his wounds had been treated while he was unconscious. Spying his forehead protector on a nearby table, Kakashi figured his rescuers must have known who he was, or at the very least, where he came from before deciding to help him.

“Let her go! I already told you, whoever you’re looking for isn’t here!” an old voice shouted from outside the small house, alerting Kakashi’s senses to multiple chakra signatures in the immediate area and reminding him of just why he had awoken in the first place. Standing on quivering legs, Kakashi ignored how much he stumbled and quickly made his way to the door, grabbing his forehead protector on the way by. Luckily, it was still tied in the back and slipped easily onto his head and down over his left eye.

Emerging from the cottage, Kakashi’s perceptive eye quickly took stock of the scene that he had evidently interrupted. An old man with two fearsome bear hounds standing protectively in front of him was facing off against a team of four Rock shinobi who wore ugly smirks on their faces. One of them held a young girl by her throat, seeming to be threatening the old man by using the child as a hostage.

“Look what we have here,” one of the nin sneered, noticing Kakashi’s arrival. “Looks like the rumors were fake after all. The White Fang, alive and kicking, well, not for long,” he laughed, drawing a blade from its sheath as the others in the group did the same. The old man gasped, whirling in his direction. He was surprised to see Kakashi on his feet after such a short amount of time. Less than a day had passed since he had been recovered, after all.

“The White Fang?” Kakashi drawled, looking at each of the approaching Rock nin in turn. The one holding the girl hostage remained back, holding onto their bargaining chip just in case the situation turned against them. “I’m not the White Fang you idiots,” the battered Hatake told them, much to their irritation.

“Are you trying to tell us that you’re not Hatake Sakumo? With that hair and the fact that you’re a Konoha shinobi? Don’t take us for fools! If you’re not the White Fang, then who the hell are you?” the shinobi who was likely the leader of their squad asked, stepping out and away from his squad to distinguish himself further. Even the old man was looking at him with equal parts skepticism and curiosity. Kakashi sighed, he still had no idea where he was, but he could hazard a good guess. He just hoped he was right and that his actions wouldn’t come back to bite him.

“Let me ask you something, has the Fourth Great Shinobi War started yet?” Kakashi asked with a sigh, rotating his shoulder and resisting the urge to wince at the aching pain that was starting to grow as the painkillers wore off. His answer was a myriad of confused looks.

“A fourth war? The third one hasn’t even end-” he was cut off rather abruptly when Kakashi lunged for him, seizing the tanto blade from his hands and driving it straight into his chest. If he hadn’t looked so broken and had the element of surprise on his side, Kakashi’s attack wouldn’t have been nearly as successful as it was.

“Close your eyes, Rika-chan!” the old man called to the girl, who’s panicked and tear-stricken face was glued to the bleeding shinobi on the ground. She did as she was told, the breath shuddering in her lungs as she tried to hold back her tears. The remaining Rock nin didn’t wait for an invitation to attack Kakashi.

Kakashi slew the next one with the same blade he pulled out of the corpse of the first nin. The fearsome look he pinned the last man with made him stop dead in his tracks. He nervously exchanged glances with the nin still holding onto Rika, and he wasn’t in any better shape.

“Why don’t you put the nice girl down and make yourselves scarce before I can really prove to you that I’m not as nice as the White Fang was,” Kakashi told them with as much venom as he could muster, raising his forehead protector to reveal a blood red Sharingan to the quivering Rock nin.

They fled quickly as soon as their eyes landed on the cursed eye. The fool holding Rika tossed her away, much to her own distress as well as her Grandfather’s. While the old man ran to her side, Kakashi covered his eye again and drew the attention of his two guard dogs with a soft whistle. He bowed his head in their direction, pleased to see them return the gesture.

“Taiki! Dai! After them!” their master ordered sharply. The white one shot off without missing a beat and tore after the weasels she had been sent to kill.

The black one approached Kakashi, however, raising his head to meet the shinobi’s eye. Kakashi dipped his head once more, showing his respect for the beast. Much to his surprise, Dai offered his flank to the tired man. Understanding that he was being given the chance to finish what he started, Kakashi climbed onto the dog’s back, nearly falling off of him as the dog lunged forwards after his mate.

They found Taiki close by with the two shinobi backed into a shallow cave. She hissed fiercely at them when they had finally regrouped for a counterattack. Unfortunately for them they had taken too long and her backup had finally arrived. Kakashi dismounted from the black beast and brandished the gleaming tanto blade that he had decided would be his.

“Who’s first?” he asked, unable to hide the exhaustion in his voice. It sounded more like boredom, however, which only terrified the men in front of him even more. A true killer could slaughter without losing a wink of sleep over it, and it seems they had voluntarily stumbled across a rather nasty one. With the help of both hounds, the Rock nin were disposed of easily.

Kakashi turned to walk out of the cave, but his knees buckled and he fell towards the ground. Bracing for the impact, the Hatake was surprised to feel Dai’s strong flank stopping his decent. Slowly climbing up onto his back again, Kakashi used the remainder of his energy to hold on as they returned to the cottage.

Limping his way back inside, Kakashi found the old man seated in a chair beside his granddaughter. She was laid out on the bed in the corner of the room, unconscious with minor bruising around her throat, but she would be just fine in a few days. The old man turned to him with a firm line set in his jaw.

“Who are you? Where did you come from?” he asked apprehensively, as if readying himself for a fight. The hounds returned to his side, Taiki laying at his feet while Dai sat near Rika’s. Kakashi figured the old man might actually win if they came to blows based on the way his body was tightening up again after so much activity. He also guessed that some of his stitches had been ripped open based on the wet patches of material he felt scattered around his body. Kakashi was too tired to lie to the man and figured that he would get where he needed a little faster if he was honest about his origins.

“My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I am Hatake Sakumo’s son. I came here from the future, though I am not sure how many years back I am. In my time, the Fourth Great Shinobi War had torn apart the Elemental Nations and my comrade and I were thrown here to fix the world before it goes up in flames again,” he explained, not expecting the man to believe him. The man stared at him for a minute or two, his gaze unwavering.

“Can you prove to me that you are his son?” he finally asked, weighing the sincerity of Kakashi’s very being with his aging eyes. The younger man felt the pressure being laid down on him, but his voice remained steady and his hands refused to shake despite the exhaustion that poured out of every part of his body.

“I can show you all of it,” Kakashi responded seriously. The old man contemplated the offer but ultimately accepted. As Kakashi’s hand moved to reveal his cursed eye, he saw the old man’s body tense from head to foot. “Do not be afraid,” Kakashi told him, slowly revealing his Sharingan. He chose a few specific memories to show the man to prove his identity. Sakumo’s death. Kakashi’s inheritance of his father’s white light blade. Fighting the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Defeating the Leader of the Akatsuki. Naruto.

To his credit, the man handled the memories with a surprising amount of neutrality. He rose silently from his seat and walked over to the shrine on the wall while Kakashi fixed his headband and tried to catch his breath. He really didn’t have enough energy left to do any more party tricks with his Sharingan. With a heavy sigh, the old man picked up a small object and offered it to Kakashi. Accepting the token, Kakashi’s eye widened at the sight of the Hatake clan symbol stamped on the front of the medallion. Turning the piece of metal over in his hands, he saw the characters for Fang stamped into the back.

“Where did you get this?” Kakashi asked quietly, looking up at the tired old man. He retook his seat and rubbed the back of his neck with a gnarled, work-worn hand.

“My name is Akio, Kakashi-san. I have lived on this land for most of my life, undisturbed by shinobi of any nation until eight years ago when a squad of Rock nin found a team of Leaf nin camping nearby. After they killed them in their sleep, they came after my family, my son, his wife and Rika, but she was only a baby at the time. They accused us of being traitors and killed my son while he tried to distract them long enough for the rest of us to escape. When they caught up to us, I killed one of the shinobi before they subdued me and stabbed my daughter in the back as she was running away. They were going to make me watch them squeeze the life out of my granddaughter when your father saved us,” Akio explained, leaning his head back and closing his eyes as he recounted the story. His hand absently brushed through Rika’s soft hair while he talked.

“Sakumo swept in like a maelstrom, probably looking for the Leaf team that had been decimated, and killed all of them as effortlessly as they slaughtered my beloved children. He stayed with us for a short time after that, caring for my wounds and giving my son and daughter-in-law a proper burial. I asked if there was anything I could do or give him in return for his kindness, but he denied everything and left me that medallion to hang onto. He said it had always protected him and gave him strength when he needed it, and that with the war growing wilder every day, I would need more strength to keep myself and Rika alive. Eight years have passed, and I am still standing. Who would have guessed that Sakumo’s son would come to save us in our time of need?” he finished with a bitter laugh.

“Keep that medallion, Kakashi-san. If you’re going back to Konoha you might need it to help prove to them that you’re a Hatake. You might also sound more believable if you tell them you’re his brother, not his son,” Akio advised with a wink, standing up and retrieving the first aid kit to recheck Kakashi’s wounds.

“Thank you. Akio-san,” Kakashi said, bowing his head to the old man before he was helped back onto the table he woke up on.

“No worries, my friend. Stay as long as you like and take whatever you will need for your journey. If you ever make it back my way, stop in for a visit and we can have a real conversation,” Akio suggested, replacing some soiled bandages and cleaning some new scratches that the Hatake had managed to get himself.

“A conversation about what?” he asked, adjusting with a groan as he fought to get comfortable on the hard tabletop. Akio shrugged.

“Anything, really. I’m not too picky.” Kakashi chuckled.

“Sounds like something to look forward to,” he said before pausing as a quiet thought passed through his mind. “Why did you believe me so readily, Akio-san? Most people would think I was crazy, even after showing them the memories that I have,” Kakashi pointed out. The old man sighed heavily in response, continuing to tighten any of the stitches that had come loose from Kakashi’s wounds.

“I believed you because Sakumo was an honest and fair man who would readily sacrifice himself for others, as he has proven. You did the same for us despite the fact that you can barely stand on your own two feet. You are an honest man, just like your father, Kakashi-san. The risk was there, but it was worth it,” he explained. Kakashi didn’t know what to say to that.

Akio soon finished his work and returned to Rika’s side. Kakashi was feeling the exhaustion as it seeped into his bones. He barely had enough time to mutter his appreciations out loud before he was unconscious once more.


	6. The Missing Piece

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Hokage’s Tower- Office of the Sandaime

“Well, my boy, I am happy to see that you are recovering nicely,” Hiruzen said with a genuine smile at the blond teen. Naru smiled back at him, entirely unconcerned or unaware of the importance of the coming conversation.

“Thank you for the hospitality, Sandaime-sama. What can I do for you?” Naru asked with a flash of pearly teeth. The Hokage leaned forward in his chair, steepling his fingers on the desk. Minato and the two Sannin were arranged in strategic positions around the room just in case trouble found them.

“I would like to hear your story, my boy. Where you came from, who your people are, if you have any, and what you plan on doing when you are released from our care. The world out there is dangerous right now with the war raging on,” Hiruzen pointed out. Naru pursed his lips and nodded thoughtfully.

“I guess I’m an Uzumaki, but I don’t know much about a clan or any special techniques or anything. I feel strength in my body and lightness when I walk, but I couldn’t move so easily and fight on command like I did at the hospital. It’s not something that I know how to control,” he admitted. “As for what I want to do after, I’m not sure. The earth calls out to me every so often, maybe I should embrace her call and find myself a new path.” Minato’s eyes narrowed.

“You don’t remember anything at all about your life before this? Or anything about the Uzumaki?” he pressed. Naru shook his head and an apology spilled from his lips.

“I want to understand as much as you do, Minato-san, believe me,” he said with a sigh. “I don’t know what to do.” The Sandaime hummed from his seat, drumming his fingers on the top of his desk.

“What can you tell me about these?” he asked, producing two forehead protectors from within his desk. Gingerly accepting them from the old man, Naru frowned at the two symbols staring back at him. One was of the Leaf, it was the same mark that he had seen most shinobi of the village wearing. The other stumped him. It was a simple swirl inside of a circle, reminiscent of the leaf symbol, but precisely its own at the same time.

“I would assume the leaf one is from one of your shinobi, but I am not sure about the other one,” Naru decided, a small frown set in his face. The Sandaime nodded, having watched the boy closely for any subtle reactions. He was candid throughout the entire exchange, however, so he was still telling the truth about having lost his memories. If he hadn’t lost them he would have recognized the two headbands as the ones that were pulled off of his own body.

“We shall wait until you are fully recovered before proceeding with any further questioning. At that time, we will decide what to do about your amnesia and see if you can remember anything new,” he decided. Naru bowed his head.

“Thank you again, Sandaime-sama, for the care,” he said with a genuine smile. His expression faltered when he felt a rapidly approaching shinobi. None of the other four people in the room reacted to his presence, but Naru’s body responded before his mind could.

As soon as the man appeared on the Sandaime’s windowsill, Naru’s hands were wrapped around his throat. The Chunin’s feet left solid ground as he was lifted into the air by his neck. Naru‘s left fist was reared back and ready to strike, oblivious to the kunai that were pointed at his own neck courtesy of Minato. He was saved only by the Sandaime’s raised hand.

“What are you doing here?!” Naru bit out frostily, the tone of his own voice surprised him as well as the other people in the office.

“Naru-kun, he is not a threat to me,” Hiruzen explained gently, well aware of the defensive position that the blond had taken up. The Chunin entered his office from one of the Sandaime’s blind spots, much like an assassin who would try to sneak up on the man. Naru engaged without killing and put himself between the Hokage and his pseudo attacker. The old man wondered if Naru sensed the Chunin’s contempt for him and reacted on what instincts he still maintained.

Upon hearing the Sandaime’s gentle voice, Naru’s gaze focused and the man was revealed not to be a man at all. The boy was barely into his teen years and wore the forehead protector of the Hidden Leaf. Releasing the child fully after lowering him back to the ground, Naru retreated to the spot he had abruptly vacated, Minato close behind him. The younger blond looked more confused than anything else.

The kid coughed roughly when he was given room to breathe again. The Sandaime himself saw to helping him to his feet and fixing his rumpled clothing.

“What happened, Asuma-kun?” he asked gently, careful not to react when his son slapped his hands away. From the corner of his eye he could see Minato and his own students frowning at the boy’s attitude towards his father. Asuma glared fiercely at Naru before registering the question.

“The gate guards sent me, old man. Some freaky dude with one arm is at the western gate. Nobody’s seen him before but he’s in bad shape and threatening to fight his way in if he has to. A good breeze would push the bastard over the edge, but nobody wants to hurt him any,” he explained, ignoring the Hokage’s frown at his use of choice language.

“Should we investigate for you, sensei?” Jiraiya offered, curious as well. Naru had appeared nearly a week earlier, perhaps the man at the gate was connected to him. The Sandaime followed his train of thought.

“I haven’t had a chance to get out of this stuffy office yet today, let’s all go for a visit,” he decided, much to his son’s annoyance. Jiraiya smirked at the irritated boy’s face. “Naru-chan, I’m afraid you will have to return to the hospital while we handle the situation at the gates,” the Sandaime ordered rising from his seat. The blond had no choice but to agree as a few ANBU dropped from the ceiling to escort him back to his room.

“Jiraiya, carry the brat, would you? I have no intention of waiting up for him,” Tsunade said with a huff, crossing the room to the open window behind the Hokage’s desk. Asuma fumed with indignation, but before he could protest Minato tossed him over his shoulder and leapt out of the office with little more than a backwards wave before he flashed out of sight. Jiraiya laughed at his student’s impatience while the Sandaime just sighed.

“Asuma-kun will be sore about that for a while I presume,” he muttered before following Tsunade out the window. Jiraiya was amused more than anything by his willingness to avoid the Secretary lurking outside his office door. Turning to Naru, Jiraiya gave him a crooked smile.

“When I’m done I’ll come see you again,” he promised before turning away himself. Naru couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face at the thought of spending more time with the white haired Sannin. There was a feeling he couldn’t shake, however, a sensation that was creeping up on him from the back of his mind. There was a charge in the air, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was or where it was coming from just yet. With a sigh, he followed one of the ANBU out the door while the other brought up the rear behind him.

They startled him when they both seized his arms and launched themselves onto the rooftops. Evidently they had opted on carrying him back between them in order to make the trip faster. Naru had to consciously subdue his innate dislike of being manhandled by the masked ANBU before he got himself in trouble yet again. He could feel that their intentions for him were not malicious, a fact that aided in his attempt to relax.

 _‘Go to the gate… all that way… he came for you,’_ a soft whisper told him over the rushing wind in his ears. Naru’s senses sharpened as sage energy flooded his body without his consent. He didn’t seem to have a choice about whether or not he was going. The ANBU noticed the change in his body and dropped him abruptly on a flat rooftop before swiftly engaging.

Naru matched their movements easily, punch for punch, kick for kick. When the opportunity arose, he threw one of the shinobi into the other and jumped off the side of the building. He quickly disappeared into the streets of Konoha, blending in well among the shadows. It was easy now that the sun had set and the evening bustle in the streets had started up again.

He carefully glanced around him in every direction with his sage mode to make sure he had lost his guards, but frowned when he instead felt the commotion taking place at the gate. He recognized a few of their auras, but the one that flashed white hot in his senses definitely caught his attention. Turning in the right direction, Naru slowly made his way towards the gates, careful not to draw unwelcome attention to himself.

#### Gates of Konoha

The scene that he arrived at could only be classified as a standoff. Hiding around the corner of a nearby building, Naru watched as all of who he assumed were the gate guards and a few Chunin surround a one armed man with silver hair. His body was thrumming with raw energy, Raiton chakra swirling around him in dangerous waves. There was a steady pounding in Naru’s head that grew every second he looked at the rough shinobi. Desperation poured from the battered man’s heart.

There was no doubt that he was a shinobi. His clothing, though torn to pieces and partially replaced by soiled bandages, was the loose fitted garb of a shinobi. Blood and grime covered every square inch of his body and stained his hair. He trembled where he stood, a look of anger and helpless frustration plastered on his face. His eye swiveled all around him, returning to Minato every now and then, but evidently he hadn’t found what he was looking for.

“Where is he?!” he thundered, taking a sluggish step farther into the village. Hiruzen chose to approach, unconcerned by the unstable force field of chakra that the man wielded to protect himself. His shinobi tensed in response to their leader’s confidence. “I know he came here!”

“Who is it you are looking for?” he asked gently, on his guard despite the intruder’s poor state of being. Desperate men often acted in the most unexpected of ways, and he had seen his fair share of desperate miracles. The man stared hard at the Sandaime with his one good eye as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“My student. I’m here for my student. I know he’s here somewhere. He has to be,” he pleaded, cloak flickering in and out of view as his chakra supply dwindled even further. The Sandaime had a good guess as to the identity of his missing student, but chose to remain aloof for the time being.

“You don’t have to protect yourself from us, especially not in your condition. Lower your shields and we will help you find your student. Let us help you,” the Sandaime asked, offering his hand to the silver haired shinobi. The man seemed to be willing to accept the Hokage’s offer and his tightly clenched fist began to loosen up, but something behind the old man drew his eye.

Naru noticed that the ANBU had found him immediately after the silver haired man’s dark eye bored right through his body. Whirling around, his own eyes widened as the irritated shinobi lunged for him. Naru did the first thing he could think of and ran away from them, right into the middle of the gathered crowd of leaf shinobi. He caught Jiraiya’s eyes briefly and flinched at the suspicion he found nestled in them.

Naru froze when he realized he had breached the circle that the Sandaime and the intruder were standing in. The Hokage hid his surprise at seeing the young blond well, but no doubt was drawing his own conclusions about the teen slipping his guard when he was supposed to be in the hospital. The one-armed man’s body shuddered with relief and he collapsed onto one knee. A smile broke out on his blood smeared face, and his happiness was evident.

“You knucklehead. Why didn’t you wait for me?” he asked, staring so intently at Naru that there was no chance he was talking to anyone else. The boy cautiously stepped forwards, feeling his pulse pounding relentlessly in his head.

“Who are you?” he asked softly, unsure of the situation. The strange man's face fell and Naru did not need his sage mode to feel his despair. His headache grew even more, squeezing without relief inside his head, begging for some kind of attention. The silver haired man’s fist opened and a metal token slipped from his fingers and his lightning shield dispersed. He used the last of his energy to close the distance between himself and Naru, wrapping his arm around the boy’s neck and drawing him close enough to whisper in his ear

“Did my precious little student really forget about his favorite sensei? After all we’ve been through, _Naruto_?” he asked softly, sending a bolt of chakra surging through the boy’s brain. The light bulb switched on as soon as Kakashi’s form went limp. Naru’s eyes rolled back in his head and he too collapsed forwards. Both landed facedown on the ground, their fingertips just close enough to brush against each other.

Tsunade didn’t wait for an invitation to swoop in and evaluate the silver haired man’s wounds. She glanced up at the Hokage, seeking permission to heal a potential enemy. Hiruzen stared down at the two for a moment longer before nodding. Tsunade grabbed Minato and they were gone with the one-eyed man in the blink of an eye.

Jiraiya approached Naru’s other side, concern rising in his chest against his will. The boy was still technically an unknown player, he shouldn’t be attached to him. The Sandaime regarded his student and the blond boy lying at his feet. Naru’s face was fitful as he slept, a sign that he might be struggling with his memories if the other man’s appearance was the key to unlocking them.

“Take him back to the hospital for now, Jiraiya. We’ll wait for either of them to wake up and then we’ll see what we’re dealing with. I have a feeling the Naru we saw before will not be the same Naru we see from this moment on,” he surmised, turning to give praise and instruction to the shinobi still gathered at the gate. The old man patted his son’s shoulder, squeezing gently before letting go altogether. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Asuma had remained so close to him. With a sigh, he departed for the private hell that was his office.


	7. Uzumaki Naru, the Sage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Konoha Hospital

Jiraiya waited for hours for Naru to wake up after being returned to the hospital. Occasionally he would glance up at the unconscious shinobi in the next bed over, studying his face and what was visible of his body.

The man had been through hell and back, but he was somehow able to make it to Konoha with grave injuries. Somebody had helped him along the way, there was no explainable way that he could have given himself medical attention with only one arm. Despite that, the silver haired man was alive and in good care under Tsunade’s careful hands.

“Still here?” a soft knock on the door followed a familiar voice as night gave way to dawn. Tsunade slipped into the hospital room and recorded a few vital signs on a clipboard, shooting glances at Jiraiya every now and then. The white haired sage shrugged, flashing her a cheesy grin.

“I’m interested in both of them, and their story. I have no doubt that our new friend here knows this cheeky blond,” he pointed out, settling his gaze on Naru’s soft face. Tsunade sighed, her fingertips brushing Jiraiya’s shoulder on the way by.

“Just be mindful of how close you grow to either one of them, Jiraiya. I don’t want to see you hurt at the end of this, whenever it comes, if ever,” she pointed out, squeezing gently before sweeping out of the room and into the hall to find more patients. Jiraiya touched the spot where her hand had rested for the moment. His skin was still tingling underneath his own familiar hands.

Naru opened his eyes and sat up straight, swallowing the gasp that tried to escape him. A flurry of thoughts tore through his mind as he tried to process the last few days of information that slammed into him all at once.

_‘They’re here... all of them. The old man, pervy-sage, granny Tsunade, all of them. Even…’_ his mind slowed when he thought of his father. The man he idolized as the Yondaime was not yet a hero of the village. He was just Namikaze Minato. Naru’s eyes swiveled right, then left, hovering briefly over Jiraiya’s dozing form before settling on the sleeping man in the next bed over. He felt his eyes prickling with tears.

Slipping out of bed was a slow process and Naru’s feet dragged on the ground as he shuffled towards the stranger who was not a stranger. His eyes searched the scarecrow’s body relentlessly, searching for every injury no matter how slight. He brushed a hand against the man’s face before burying his face in his chest and releasing his pent up emotion. Naru sobbed quietly until he fell asleep again, still clinging onto the man’s limp body.

Jiraiya found him half sprawled on the unconscious shinobi with the older man’s arm secured around Naru’s waist to make sure he didn’t fall. At some point the ANBU stationed in the room felt it appropriate to drape a blanket around the teen’s shoulders rather than forcefully put him in his own bed again. Apparently they had grown tired of wrestling with the young and unpredictable sage.

With a gentle sigh and a smile, Jiraiya resettled himself in his own chair. He waited until Naru’s eyes blinked open, zeroing in on his face and lighting up with recognition. A smile split his lips and his eyes watered as the blanket slipped off of his shoulders. Jiraiya raised an expectant eyebrow and Naru was quick to plaster a smile on his face.

“My sensei found me. I’m so happy that he’s alright,” he started, hiding his trembling hands in the blanket and pretending that his tears were for his Genin Sensei rather than the perverted mentor that was living and breathing right in front of him. “I remember all of it now, perv- J-Jiraiya-sama,” he stuttered, catching himself mid name and hoping that the Toad-Sannin would ignore the slip up.

“I remember the fighting and nearly dying, losing my friends and holding out hope on a home that didn’t exist anymore.” Jiraiya’s eyes widened in response and he watched Naru feel his forehead for something that he apparently forgot was no longer there. The boy still managed to maintain his bright grin, painfully honest throughout their whole encounter. The Sannin figured that if he remembered the truth and it was good enough to keep smiling, they would be alright.

“Why don’t we wait on story time until your sensei wakes up?” he offered, one half of his mind telling him to interrogate the boy that very moment while the other argued that the two wouldn’t have time to create a cohesive story if he was with them the entire time. Naru nodded eagerly.

“Let me help your medics by fixing his chakra coils. He’ll heal faster, if that’s alright,” he suggested eagerly. Jiraiya’s interest was piqued but he frowned, hand on his chin.

“You know medical jutsu? You don’t have enough chakra, there’s no way,” he pointed out. Naru shook his head playfully with a dazzling glimmer in his eyes.

“Nope! I can’t use medical jutsu, but bring me a plant and I can show you!” he exclaimed with enthusiasm, eyes growing bright again at the thought of connecting with the natural energy of the old world. He briefly wondered if it would still accept him with all of the guilt that had been added to his heart.

“If I bring you a plant, you can heal him?” he asked skeptically. Naru grinned.

“How much do you know about senjutsu?” he asked cheekily. Jiraiya was silent for a minute before nodding to the ANBU in the corner to fetch a plant. The Hokage should have already been on his way, hopefully with Minato in tow. If the boy was going to use senjutsu right in front of them, they would want to see it.

Jiraiya and Naru made small talk while everything was being assembled. The Toad Sannin had even convinced him to get back in bed once he was done analyzing his comrade’s condition one last time. They also used that time to establish that Jiraiya knew quite a bit about senjutsu.

Naru smiled when he saw a giant potted plant being carried in by a tottering Minato who struggled to carry it. The plant itself was massive, but starting to die as its flowers fell off.

“Where would you like it, Naru-kun?” the blond asked. Naru took the lead, entirely pleased with the plant that had been brought to him. The old thing existed in his own lifetime, always hanging on the edge of death while the Sandaime was still in office.

“On the bed, please, Minato-san! I can take care of it from there,” he said, patting the sheets in front of him. He had curled his legs in and sat cross legged to make more room for the large pot when the Sandaime and Tsunade joined them. Jiraiya’s eyes watched Naru like a hawk for any indication that he was ready to use some kind of jutsu while he wasn’t paying attention. The boy was entirely ignorant to the piercing gaze and wiggled happily on his bed as he prepared himself mentally to use senjutsu.

The Toad-Sannin took note of the clear change in the boy’s demeanor after he was guaranteed a chance to show off his senjutsu. The implications of his actions could be very good or very bad. Jiraiya was definitely on his toes, despite his lax exterior.

“You’re not going to kill my plant are you, young man?” the Sandaime asked him seriously. “It was given to me by the late wife of the Shodaime, Uzumaki Mito,” he informed the spectators, none of which knew the origins of the ancient plant. Naru shook his head, understanding the sentimental value of such a gift.

“I can assure you that your plant will be fine. I’ll take good care of him,” he said calmly, reassuring the old man with a kind smile. He brushed one of the giant leaves and his smile fell. “There’s something here… I can feel his sickness, there’s something holding him back and I want to help him grow. You should stay close and watch, Sandaime-sama,” he suggested. Hiruzen tilted his head to the side with confusion.

“What do you mean, something that’s holding him back?” he responded. The other shinobi in the room were also interested as to why there would be any kind of barrier for a plant, of all things. Naru smiled brightly up at them. The smile never seemed to leave his face once it appeared. It was pleasant to look at, and made the boy seem all the more gentle.

“This plant reacts to your presence, Sandaime-sama. All forms of life have some kind of sentience in the natural world. Plants mostly convey general feelings rather than words, however. I can tell that he trusts you and if you stay, he’ll be able to relax more. I can feel his contentment already,” Naru explained, noticing the genuine interest that appeared on the faces of the Sandaime and Jiraiya. His fingers were gently brushing the wide leaves of the large plant. His touch was amorous and kind.

“Are you ready to try?” The Sannin asked, dreading the anticipation. Naru nodded and closed his eyes, reaching out to caress the leaves. His concentration was focused on finding the flow of everything. He hesitated momentarily when he picked up on Tsunade’s irritated aura, but moved past her for the moment.

“Would you mind if I asked your plant to help me heal my friend? He’s been hurt badly and we need him to wake up,” Naru asked the old man. Hiruzen showed his intrigue while Jiraiya filled in Minato and Tsunade on what was about to take place.

“Can you do it with any plant? Or is mine somehow special?” the Sandaime asked in return. Naru nodded confidently.

“If the mind is strong enough, there are no limitations to where pure energy can be cultivated and drawn from,” he explained softly. Jiraiya and Minato were at a loss for words. They had no idea that senjutsu could be used so fluidly. Naru looked up at Tsunade for approval, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

“Is it alright if I try to heal him?” he asked shyly, unsure of whether or not he would aggravate her again. The Slug Princess exchanged glances with her teammate. Jiraiya simply shrugged, as curious as she was about it. As far as Tsunade knew, only the slugs had healing capabilities.

“What makes you think whatever you’re planning on doing is going to work?” she asked him seriously, not yet willing to turn the broken man over to a boy that none of them knew anything about. Naru still found it in himself to smile at her.

“His body will heal faster if his chakra is stable and the rest of him is healthy, right? I can use senjutsu to realign his chakra coils. The natural energy will not upset his body if given in moderation, seeing as it isn’t purely a foreign person’s chakra. The energy will strengthen his body and increase new cell production, then I can reconnect his coils where they have been severed. At the very least, he will have a faster recovery and be able to use his chakra again without destroying his body in the process,” he explained. Tsunade weighed the truth of his words. She was hesitant, seeing as she had never done anything of the like herself, but his argument made sense to her.

“You have my permission, brat,” she decided. Naru bowed his head in thanks and returned to the plant, finally ready to show them his power. Closing his crystal blue eyes, Naru took a deep breath, sighing shortly after. His hands came together and his legs crossed in a meditative stance very familiar to Jiraiya.

He found the flow of all life circulating around him and he asked permission to enter its stream rather than just diving in. He had already shared many experiences with nature in the current world, but he was a stranger to the land he now resided in. Falling deeply into his meditation, all of the barriers keeping him from near limitless nature energy gave way effortlessly to him. Despite his initial fears, Naru was embraced lovingly and offered a place among the peace and solace of the earth in a time of confusion and desperation.

Naru shuddered as emotion overcame him. Relief poured out of every fiber of his being and a happy tear fell from his eye. He laughed softly and let the earth offer him the love he hadn’t known he had been desperate for. What surprised him was the cache of nature chakra stored within his own body, ready and waiting for him to use, but that was something he needed to investigate later.

Naru continued on and tapped into the essence of the Hokage’s monstrous plant, but there he paused. There was a long string of black mixed within its normal light. He grabbed onto that darkness and pulled it away from the plant, realizing that it was hindering the plant’s ability to generate natural energy. He did not want to release it into the air and possibly infect others with the black, so he accepted it within himself. The blackness was purged inside of his body and released back into the flow as reclaimed energy immediately after. His body may have been physically weak, but he was still growing stronger with every breath.

The plant communicated its happiness to Naru, filling his body and the air with the natural energy of a sage as thanks. He couldn’t help the excited grin that appeared on his face. The spectators that surrounded him leaned in closer when they saw the red marks forming on his face. This time, his eyelids were red and the whisker marks on his cheeks were painted over with red lines in addition to the V on his forehead. The plant itself perked up and grew before their very eyes, its color becoming richer and more vibrant with each passing second.

Naru’s energy flooded the room, allowing its occupants the ability to safely tap into the stream of sage energy that flowed around them every day. He channeled the sage chakra into his eyes to see each person’s aura and feed them the right amount of energy to achieve sage mode without worry of turning into an animal.

Minato and Jiraiya felt it first, the latter more than the former. The orange marks of the toad sages formed around their eyes. They had felt the same connection with the earth, but never as completely as the teen before them. There was no longer any doubt about the boy’s power. The earth loved him and protected him. They felt his vulnerability, his fear, and his deepest emotions, a pit of darkness underneath a personality that shone as brightly as the sun. Naru felt their suspicion and distrust weighing down on him, but he persisted yet.

“What’s happening? I feel… tingly,” Tsunade hissed to her old teammate, who stood with a look of awe on his face. Jiraiya couldn’t tear his eyes away from Naru long enough to look at her while he answered.

“Be still! It’s sage energy, Tsunade. Don’t move and focus on balancing the spirit of your mind and the strength of your body. The earth will do the rest and blend your chakra with its own, if you accept it,” he explained in obscure terms, not quite grasping the truth that Naru himself had enough control to regulate their intake of chakra all at the same time.

Nevertheless, Tsunade and the Sandaime, who was also experiencing the same teasing nudges, followed the advice of the Toad Sannin. The difference in sensation struck them like a hammer when they reached inner harmony. Thick blue lines trailed down Tsuande’s face from her eyes, and blue marks covered her eyelids as she obtained the abilities of a sage. Hiruzen had his own white marks that appeared on his hands and neck. His eye markings were black, and his eyes turned golden in color.

“Do not forget the sensations that you are currently feeling,” Naru said to them with a quaint smile, opening very red eyes. “You might never be this close to the power of a sage again in your lifetime.” To himself, he whispered encouraging words as he slipped out of his bed easily and headed to the other without showing signs of the stiffness that his body had been feeling for days. The crowd followed behind him.

“You’ve been hurting long enough, sensei, it’s time for me to do some of the heavy lifting!” he cried, gathering a great amount of nature energy. He forced it all into the unconscious man’s body, feeding it into his chakra pathways and purging the infections hiding within him that could slow his healing process. Naru’s determined grin faltered when he was met with resistance due to the poor state of the man’s chakra coils, but he was relentless.

Naru guided the natural energy through the man’s body, strengthening his chakra coils along the way. Naru’s healing power resided in his ability to return damaged or infected cells to their natural, healthy state and beyond. He could do little for the wounds and abrasions, big or small, besides give them a boost of energy to fix themselves slightly faster than normal. Nevertheless, he could certainly give his sensei the ability to fight again someday.

Pushing himself through his sensei’s body, Naru felt along his chakra pathways and stretched the loose ends until two open paths of chakra converged again. Naru was breathing heavily from the strain his own body and mind were under, but he had managed to seal the ragged opening in the unconscious man’s chakra network. He might have trouble performing jutsu with only one hand and no way to create a balanced circuit of energy, but at the very least he would no longer leak chakra out of the opening created by losing an arm.

“... I told you… I could do it,” Naru chuckled, withdrawing his natural energy and collapsing on the side of the bed. Naru’s energy dispersed throughout the room once more and the sage markings faded from all of them. Jiraiya retrieved the young blond while Tsunade moved to examine the kid’s handiwork. She released a low whistle, clearly impressed by the boy’s talent. The man’s chakra coils were as perfect as they could be for only having one arm. If she hadn’t just witnessed Naru’s handiwork, it would have seemed as if he had only been born with one arm and his chakra networks grew around it. She had no doubt that she was seeing just the tip of the iceberg with regards to Naru’s senjutsu.

“How is he, Tsuna-chan?” the Sandaime asked, coming up beside his female student. She sighed gently in response.

“When he finishes healing his major wounds, he will be better off than I could have left him. I have a feeling that brat took a risk trying to fix his chakra coils like that, but as far as I can tell, it will pay off,” she finished, doing a final once over of the man and his wounds before withdrawing.

The Sandaime was deep in thought, warming up a cold piece of metal in his pocket. The man’s tanto blade wasn’t made in the Land of Fire based on the type of steel it was crafted with, which was native only to Earth country. He wondered about the likelihood of there being more Hatake’s scattered out in the Great Nations, waiting for fate to bring them home. It was entirely possible.

Minato took his time looking over the silver haired man, taking in his unusual features while he couldn’t be scolded for staring like a nosy child. His mind kept circling back around to a thought that was plausible yet highly unlikely. The man looked far too much like Hatake Sakumo to be funny, and he was well aware that there was going to be some talk among the village’s shinobi before long. Rumors would be spread that the White Fang was still alive. What troubled Minato, however, was how his young student was going to take the news.

Jiraiya’s mind was still reeling over the impressive display of senjutsu and control of natural energy that he had just borne witness to. He thought of Fukasaku and Shima, the two great sage toads from Mt. Myoboku. He wondered if they had any knowledge of the blond who could very well be the earth incarnate with the abilities he had already shown to possess.

While their attention was cast on Naru, in the next bed over, the tall shinobi was starting to stir.


	8. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

“Where the hell am I-” Kakashi started to say, sitting up in bed before his eye landed on five other people crammed in the room with him. For a man with his injuries, he quickly slipped out of bed and tried to place himself between them and Naru. Tsunade cocked an eyebrow and muttered under her breath about “skittish morons”. She advanced on him, trying to grab hold of his arm, but he pulled himself out of her reach.

“What’s going on here?” he barked, finally seeing clearly. They could feel the silver haired man’s small amount of chakra starting to churn, and his eye darted around the room until it landed on Minato.

“Relax, my friend. You stumbled into Konoha a few hours ago. We’re currently in the hospital so your wounds can be treated,” the Sandaime said honestly, holding his hands up in a placating gesture, much like he had at the gates the day before. “If you would be so kind as to answer, I would like to know how you came to be so grievously injured,” he continued, folding his hands inside his robes. Kakashi offered no immediate answer, which was answer enough. He was saved from the spotlight when Naru stirred in his bed, opening his eyes long enough to see that his sensei was up and moving as well.

“Sensei! You’re alright!” he shouted without warning, finding enough energy to fling himself at the man and bury his head in Kakashi’s shoulder. The silver haired man couldn’t help but return his student’s hug, glaring daggers all the while at the other occupants of the room. He was tired and aching enough to make maintaining a grouchy facade nearly effortless.

“How long have they been holding you captive here?” he asked the boy, lowering his head enough to direct the question at his student while allowing his eye to remain facing the other occupants of the room. Naru pulled away and ducked his head, a light flush dusting his cheeks.

“I’ve been here for almost a week, sensei. I’m sorry that I didn’t go looking for you!” he cried suddenly. “I didn’t have my memories until you got here, I remember being so confused by everything,” he whispered. The older man sighed, but the iciness of his tone was not directed at the blond.

“You should have escaped the moment you woke up, you brat,” Kakashi said with a heavy glare at the Sandaime. He had a lot of balls to be staring so balefully at the god of shinobi.

“And leave you?! Never! Uzumaki Naru would never leave a comrade behind!” Naru shouted back in clear defiance, head popping up beside Kakashi’s rather defensively. Kakashi looked ready to strangle the boy but he was interrupted by the Toad Sannin who was now leaning comfortably on the opposite side of Naru’s bed.

“Do you not trust Konoha? What makes you think he’s been a prisoner here?” Jiraiya asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew very well that Naru’s control of senjutsu was advanced enough that he would be a prime target for anyone who knew of his power. Someone to be wary of, but a prize catch nonetheless. There was also something about the way the scarecrow was berating the teen that rubbed the Sannin the wrong way. Kakashi turned his nose up at the man.

“All foreigners are in danger of being killed or captured for whatever hidden secrets their bodies may hold, regardless of whether or not they are shinobi. I’ve no doubt that you’ve seen some of Naru’s potential, though I hope that he’s smart enough to have kept some of his secrets to himself.” Kakashi hissed the last line at Naru, who winced, but remained steadfast.

“We can trust them, sensei. They helped us when they didn’t have to, and they haven’t hurt me any since I came here,” he said, trying to reason with the man. “Their intentions are to protect their village, but they are being honest.” Kakashi scowled, but there was still relief in his eyes.

“If you say we can trust them… I’ll consider it. Besides, I would have to kill them if they hurt you, Naru,” he started, patting the boy’s head fondly and trusting in his intuition, well aware he would have used sage mode to confirm it. The blond savored the attention, made perfectly clear by the blissful expression on his face. Kakashi had no doubt that Naru had used his sage mode to come to the conclusion that they were not harboring ill will towards them.

“You seriously think you can take us with one arm?” Jiraiya snorted, growing tired of the wounded man’s pomp despite the circumstances he found himself in. Kakashi’s glare was intense in return, and the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.

“Don’t you underestimate me, Jiraiya- _ sama _ .” The honorific was pronounced with equal amounts of scorn and malice. The Sandaime chose to step in before anything escalated to the point of violence.

“What is your name, and what were you doing that left you in such dire health? If there is a substantial threat out there so close to this village, we must deploy shinobi to take care of it before others get hurt,” he said politely. Kakashi glared stubbornly, but his attention was diverted to Minato again. Seeing his old sensei alive was hard. It hurt to see him so close and know that he was one wrong word away from being an enemy.

“Please, sir. Even if you don’t care for the Hidden Villages, think about your fellow travelers. Evil doesn’t discriminate out there, like you said, and this war has taken enough innocent lives,” Minato reasoned, cracking Kakashi’s hard exterior with his genuine concern for the lives of innocents, regardless of the nation they claimed allegiance to. The scarecrow sighed, well aware that he was beat.

“I assume you’ve seen Naru’s stomach?” he asked, sitting on the edge of his own hospital bed. Naru grew tense but remained standing at his side. Kakashi figured he knew why, bringing up Naru’s seal and the lack of a beast inside of it would be difficult for the blond to hear for a while.

“He has the seal of a Jinchuuriki, but it’s empty,” Minato answered. Kakashi closed his good eye.

“Then we are in luck,” he started, noticing the way Naru grew perfectly rigid while he confirmed that his seal was in fact, empty. “Naru and I were traveling from Earth country and were ambushed on our way to Wave. He is an Uzumaki, and has a nasty habit of shouting his name at everyone he meets. It would be easy for someone to overhear and even easier to feel the sheer amount of chakra he has to confirm it. Anyways, they got the drop on me, drugged the both of us and kidnapped him. They wanted to use him and implant a Bijuu in his body, but they failed and were forced to flee when I caught up to them. What you see now is what was left of me after protecting him,” Kakashi explained sullenly, the story unfolding in his mind as all of the details he remembered from the last few hours of their timeline clicked neatly into place. Naru’s fists tightened and his teeth clenched upon hearing of his kidnapping, playing the part of a loyal pupil extremely well.

“All of this is my fault, and now you’re injured because of me. I’m sorry, sensei,” he said softly, letting go of his anger and bowing his head. The older man absently patted his student’s arm. The way in which they interacted felt strangely intimate despite the extreme commonality of their actions. There was plenty of underlying affection in every action exchanged between them. Their love, their dependency upon one another, was pure.

It made sense that the sensei would go after the student. They were close enough to make that sacrifice for each other without question. There was only one glaring problem with their story.

“Where were the bodies? Surely you killed some of his kidnappers?” Minato asked with a small frown. Kakashi gave him a confused look and took a gamble.

“Did you say there were no bodies? That’s not possible. I killed them all,” he said in defense of himself, counting the bodies of those Ame nin that he had toppled one after another on his way to a fight that was supposed to end in his death. There were many details in the scarecrow’s explanation, but his claims weren’t adding up, a fact that was rather dangerous if left unchecked. A light bulb went off in Kakashi’s head. He remembered Naruto making mention of a specific technique in their own world, one that he knew the blond was capable of pulling it off. “Where did you find him?” he asked suddenly.

“In the forests on the edge of Fire Country, why?” Minato pressed. Kakashi looked up at the boy standing next to him.

“Was it a particularly dense forest?” he asked, trying to subtly convey his idea to Naru through the empty space between them. Tsunade threw her hands up, entirely exasperated with the whole situation.

“Why the hell does it matter how dense the forest was or not?” she growled. “Answer the damn question!” Minato thought about it, however, drawing from his memories of his intense first interaction with Naru.

“I believe it was, yes. My team had to break through a lot of vegetation to get to Naru-kun,” he explained. Kakashi closed his one good eye.

“Naru… you’ve been using your Sage mode a lot recently, haven’t you? What did you do with them?” he asked softly. The boy looked uncomfortable, unable to meet anyone’s gaze, but he figured he knew exactly what his sensei wanted him to say. He wouldn’t have brought up the number of trees in a forest otherwise. “You need to tell me what happened to them, Naru.”

“I… I was unhappy,” he started, remembering that the best lie was one built on a foundation of truths. “I didn’t want to lose you, sensei, and I was so tired from running. Seeing them made me feel sad, too,” he admitted, squirming with discomfort underneath all of the eyes trained on him. The people in the room were starting to understand that the interesting boy in front of them had disposed of a fair amount of corpses single handedly. And to top it off, there wasn’t a single trace of them left behind.

“Keep going, young man,” Hiruzen said, encouraging and commanding the blond at the same time. Naru felt tears coming to his eyes. Kakashi shifted further onto the bed with a sigh, sitting with his back against the headboard. Naru didn’t wait for permission before crawling into his lap and burrowing his face into Kakashi’s chest. The pain was evident in his body language.

“I managed to untie myself and make it to your side, but there was one poor bastard who was still alive and in my way. I couldn’t leave him like he was, sensei. He was nearly dead but I couldn’t forgive him after what he did to you. I thought you were gone, sensei and I didn’t know who to ask for help, or what I should do,” he admitted, finding it easier to recount the story for his mentor rather than the four powerful shinobi sharing the room with them.

“So you asked the earth?” Jiraiya guessed, ignoring the piercing glare Tsunade sent him for opening his mouth. Naru nodded, internally pleased with the intervention. The more Konoha helped with the creation of their story, the more believable it would be. Jiraiya seemed to be working himself into a dangerous position with how supportive he was of the young blond.

“She showed me how to help him, how to give him another chance at life. He’ll live longer than any of us now, and his friends too, I went around to all of them and made sure they’re together. I gave them to the trees, and in return, they sheltered me when I couldn’t move anymore. I was so tired, and I was so sad,” he said. It was uncertain exactly what the boy had done, but enough had been said. His face contorted as the tears spilled down his whiskered cheeks.

“I’m sorry, sensei! I know I promised you I wouldn’t put myself in danger like that, but I couldn’t sit by and do nothing,” he sobbed. His whole body was quivering on the man’s bed. Kakashi could only keep a tight grip around his shoulders, cupping the back of the boy’s head in a comforting gesture.

“It’s alright, Naru. I forgive you. We’re both alright now.” Kakashi’s hand rubbed against his back, feeling his student’s need for forgiveness. The feeling was genuine. Naru wasn’t apologizing for killing fake shinobi. He was apologizing for his failures in their time more than for landing them in their current situation. Kakashi figured they could sort out the young blond’s emotions when they had some time to themselves.

The air in the room grew heavier in the second Kakashi had been lost in thought. Sadness crept into the hearts of the shinobi before it vanished without a trace only moments after it appeared. Kakashi had pinched a nerve in the blond’s neck, leaving him unconscious. Minato was startled at the familiar feeling of despair but Tsunade shook herself of it quickly.

“What did he do that was so bad?” she asked, unwilling to accept the boy’s ambiguous response. It was clear that Kakashi was no longer in a feisty mood.

“His mind and body are incredibly well-tuned with sage energy, but now I would bet that their bond has only grown stronger. I don’t understand it like he does, but when Naru mixes his own chakra with the earth’s power he can give his own life force to nature as well. It allows him to mold nature energy and give it to other things and people. If he’s not careful, he would run out of chakra and become one with the earth in a literal sense by giving his entire life force to her.” Jiraiya’s eyes widened, swiveling to the blond.

“That’s how we were able to achieve sage mode then. He controlled the amount of natural energy we were taking in so we wouldn’t turn into animals,” he realized. Tsunade whirled on him.

“Are you saying he could have turned all four of us into animals at the same time? With no way to stop it from happening?” she hissed, growing more and more furious at the thought of being helpless without even realizing it. Jiraiya shook his head.

“If he wanted to kill us he wouldn’t have let us tap into sage mode like that. We all received a boost of physical power and gained the ability to perceive intentions. Naru’s plan would have been exposed and he would have been disposed of before anything drastic could have happened. Trust me, Tsunade. You felt his thoughts too, didn’t you? He is pure of heart,” Jiraiya argued, and suddenly the Sandaime and Minato could understand why Jiraiya was so fond of the young boy. He resonated with him through senjutsu. Tsunade huffed in response, unable to respond at first. She turned back to Kakashi.

“I want to know how much power it takes to do what he did,” she demanded, folding her arms under her impressive cleavage. Kakashi frowned.

“He would have needed the chakra of an average shinobi for each man,” he guessed. Jiraiya racked his brain for a specific detail from their story, but it was missing.

“How many shinobi did you say you defeated?” Kakashi swallowed hard, and the number that came to mind was accurate to the number of Ame nin he felled that day. Kakashi wasn’t sure if Naruto could match up to the same amount chakra-wise anymore.

“I killed seventeen.” Silence reigned in the room.

“He has the chakra capacity of seventeen Chunin to Jonin level shinobi?” Minato finally asked, utterly astounded. Kakashi nodded.

“He is an Uzumaki, a fine specimen of one to boot. He would have made a powerful Jinchuuriki, I have no doubt, but we weren’t interested in serving anyone. Are there any more questions? I think I need to take another nap before the brat wakes up,” he griped, ready for question time to be over. Hiruzen piped up from his spot beside his giant plant.

“Before we leave you, can you tell me why we found Naru-kun with an Uzu and Konoha headband?” he asked, producing them from his robes. Kakashi’s mind flew through options, eventually deciding on the best excuses to make about them.

“The Uzu headband was left for Naru by his mother, along with his impressive amount of chakra and his loud mouth. The Konoha headband is mine. It was given to me by my brother, in case I ever needed to find sanctuary from the world. Jokes on him, up until now I’ve done just fine by myself,” he said moodily. There were enough half truths packed into his answer to make it sound believable.

“What was your name again?” Minato asked with a fake smile that the scarecrow could see right through. He was somewhat pleased to find that he could still read his old sensei like a book. The skill might come in handy later down the line. Schooling his features, Kakashi looked surprised at the repeated question.

“Who me?” he asked, pointing to himself like he wasn’t the only one without a stated name. “I’m Hatake Kadeshi. That asshole Sakumo is my brother. Didn’t he tell you about me?”


	9. Home At Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Training Ground 7

Kakashi couldn’t shake the feeling that haunted his thoughts ever since they stumbled across that strange boy nearly a week earlier. The vague scent of his father clung to the skin of whoever the blond claimed to be. The young Hatake wondered how his senses might have been able to betray him all those years ago when he stood over his father’s stone-cold corpse. He knew that they hadn’t, but doubt still clouded his mind.

Hatake Sakumo was dead, and the possibility that he wasn’t was too miniscule to even be worth the anger that would follow such a proposal. Still, the scent of his father lingered in the air, teasing, taunting Kakashi until all he could do was think of Sakumo. His nightmares, which had lessened considerably over the years, were coming back with a vengeance. Kakashi could only hope that if his sensei had already noticed, that he wouldn’t ask any questions about his recent sluggishness in combat training.

“Yo, Bakashi!” A piercing voice cut through Kakashi’s silent brooding. A lackadaisical Obito and a shy, smiling Rin were entering the training field. They had all agreed to meet up and train while their sensei was otherwise occupied with matters he was unwilling to discuss with his students.

“Don’t call me that, you pathetic failure of an Uchiha,” Kakashi threw back, too frustrated to mince his words into something more playful and less provocative. Obito took the bait easily, helping himself to Kakashi’s personal space and hauling the smaller Chunin up from the ground by the front of his shirt.

“What the hell is your problem, Kakashi? Still butthurt because sensei found someone else to give his attention to? Join the club, idiot! We all want him back,” Obito shouted. Kakashi’s hands twitched dangerously in response, but before he could act on his impulses, Rin’s gentle hands found both of their shoulders.

“Please stop it, you two. It’s hard enough on all of us without Minato-sensei right now. We need to work together. What’s going to happen if Hokage-sama assigns us a mission without sensei and we can’t complete it because you two are too busy clawing at each other’s throats all the time? We’re friends, aren’t we? Why can’t we act like it?” she said gently, trying her best to calm down the two angry boys. Luckily, her words came with reinforcements.

“Whoa whoa, did we come at a bad time?” a drawling voice asked them, revealing Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai. A soft noise on the other side of the clearing gave way to a yell that grew in volume until the ever-enigmatic Might Guy came tearing into the field while running on his hands.

“I got here as fast as I could! I hope I didn’t delay our youthful day of training!” he shouted, jumping to his feet and posing with one hand on his hip and the other giving them all a thumbs up. His smile sparkled, but his attempt at a wink fell flat when he realized that Kakashi and Obito were moments away from coming to blows. “Oh no! A friendly rivalry gone awry! What could be the reason?!” he shouted, adopting an equally-as-obnoxious thinking pose. Obito was about to release his teammate and prove himself the better man when Kakashi slapped his hands away for him. Rin sighed, grateful that they had not resorted to violence.

“What are all of you guys doing here?” Kakashi asked quietly, more annoyed by their presence than he normally would be. He didn’t mind his fellow Chunin, but he was in no mood to be conversational. There were too many things he still had to piece together in his head.

“We invited them to come train with us. Last time I checked being friendly wasn’t a crime,” Obito supplied, offering no less venom that had been given to him without prompting. Rin shot him a pleading look, but the Uchiha offered no apology, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff.

“Kakashi-kun, we’ve all had a lot on our minds since we got back and we figured that some extra people might make training a little more interesting and help us relax a little,” Rin explained. Kakashi frowned underneath his mask.

“I don’t need you to distract me from the questions that I need answered,” he said, offering no room for compromise. Right as he was about to leave, Asuma decided to pitch in a tidbit of information that would hopefully make the silver haired Chunin stay. News in the village traveled fast, they had all heard of the strange encounter Team Minato had on their way back to the village.

“Do your questions have anything to do with that blond kid you guys found the other day? He attacked me as soon as I entered my old man’s office yesterday and he slipped his guards to show up at the gate where this crazy dude was trying to break into the village last night,” he summarized quickly, smug to find that he had everyone’s attention as soon as he mentioned the outsiders that currently resided in the village.

“What can you tell me about him?” Kakashi asked, whirling around to face Asuma and quickly closing the distance between them. The raven haired Chunin shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Which one do you want to know about? The blond? Or the one who looks like you?” he asked in return. Kakashi’s blood ran cold. Suddenly, he was keenly aware that the scent of his father wasn’t just a memory that refused to die. It was present in the village. His father was still alive and he was close.

Kakashi shot off like a rocket, ignoring the calls of his friends behind him. He had a single mission and with the scent of the White Fang’s blood filling his nostrils, he felt strength fill his tired limbs. His feet carried him to the hospital, where he could vaguely feel the chakra signatures of his sensei, the Sannin and the Hokage along with a few others that were familiar. What struck him like a punch in the gut, however, was the chakra signature that was too close to his own to be a coincidence.

Kakashi’s hands began to twitch once more, and he was less interested in smothering the raw emotions that were building up inside of him.

  
  


#### Konoha Hospital

The blank faces staring back at him provided a definite answer. The two Sannin and the Sandaime were surprised, but composed themselves quickly. Minato was too slow to hide his gaping face from Kadeshi’s perceptive eye. Kadeshi grimaced and nodded, looking away from the Konoha shinobi. He had foolishly hoped that they wouldn’t have to talk about his family so soon. The coming conversation would not be so easy to lie his way out of.

“Well I guess that explains a lot,” he said with an awkward laugh, pushing the envelope even further by laying his grievances out for all to see. “I had always wondered why I wasn’t invited to Sakumo’s wedding.” In his mind, Kadeshi heard the negative voice at the back of his head translating the lies back into truths. _‘Why couldn’t my father ever let me into his life?’_ it asked, taking Kakashi’s childhood angers and reminding him that they hadn’t been forgotten.

“Why he didn’t tell me when his wife died.” Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged quick glances, silently debating about what should be said and what should be left out. _‘Why he never acted like a father, or treated me as his son.’_ Minato’s hands tightened into fists and he thought of his student’s emotions and whether or not he felt the same feeling of disappointment and loss as the man standing before them. He wondered if it had faded any over the years.

“Why he never asked me to stay with him in Konoha when the war began,” Kadeshi said. ‘ _Why he never asked for help when his thoughts were eating him alive,’_ he thought, knowing full well that the Hokage was now the only one in the room showing any subtlety about how he really felt. The man’s poker face was rock solid. Minato was lost in his thoughts and Tsunade was having an awkward staring match with Jiraiya over something. Probably him, if Kadeshi was being honest with himself.

“He’d sooner see me die a casualty of war than fighting alongside him,” Kadeshi finally admitted to himself, but with less conviction than the other statements had been made with. He had yet to entirely convince himself that his father’s poor decisions were made because his father hated him. _‘He took the easy way out and left me here, alone. Alone to pick up the pieces that weighed down on me and live with the weight of the ones I couldn’t quite reach.’_

“I think it’s best if you just didn’t tell him I’m here at all,” he finished with hurt in his voice, hurt that was purely genuine though he tried desperately to play it off with nonchalance. Minato snapped, his anger boiling over.

“Where have you been?! You can’t blame Sakumo-san for everything that happened between you! Maybe if you visited more than once every few decades you would know more about him and his family. Don’t try and throw the blame on the back of a de-” he stopped himself from saying anything more, but it was clear to everyone what was about to be said. Kadeshi chose to remain aloof for the time being, turning his head to look out the window. He couldn’t meet the eyes of his late sensei after that. Deep inside of his heart he wished that Minato had the guts to tell his younger self that back when he was still a kid. Maybe then he wouldn’t have such a hard time dealing with his emotions as an adult.

 _‘First you blame father for all of your problems, and now your own sensei? Get it together, you’re as much to blame as anyone else is,’_ his nagging voice reminded him. Kadeshi sighed, seeing his own reflection in the glass window. He looked so much younger than he remembered. Young and _angry_. Kadeshi’s eye widened considerably.

“Is that-?” his surprise was interrupted by his younger self smashing through the window pane, his arm glowing brightly with the power of a wild chidori. Fury tightened his lean body, driving him forward even as Minato came to subdue his student’s temper. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kadeshi said, confusion twisting his features. Young Kakashi yielded his advance to Minato physically blocking his way, but he had many things to say. The chidori crackling on his arm made it easy to tell what the boy was interested in talking about.

“What the hell are you doing here?! You sick bastard! You left me! I thought you were gone! How could you?!” he screamed at the older man, anger overtaking his common sense as he tried to shove past Minato. The Jonin held fast and resorted to driving Kakashi back towards the window he came in from with a gentle hand on his chest. Jiraiya convinced Tsunade to remain where she was, seeing no need to interfere with the situation. He knew the kunoichi was mad about one of her hospital rooms getting damaged, but he figured it would face minimal damages if Tsunade herself wasn’t involved.

“Easy now, Kakashi,” Minato tried, failing miserably when his young Chunin seemed to grow even more agitated by the blank look on the other man’s face. His chidori grew in size as it fed on his chakra with abandon.

“Don’t look at me like that! Don’t look at me like you don’t know who I am!” the Chunin shouted, unaware that tears had started to gather in his eyes. Kadeshi knew very well who was standing only a few feet away, but his surprise came in the form of forgetting that he had been so volatile at one point in his life. He may have hated his father, but with age and experience he had learned how to manage his emotions. The younger version of himself had yet to learn such an important skill. It made him seem foreign.

Clearing his throat, the Sandaime garnered the attention of the tense room. He pinned Kakashi down with a hard stare, daring him to challenge the authority of the Hokage. Kakashi was defiant for a moment or two longer before he backed off of his sensei with a cry of frustration. Kadeshi sighed to himself, relieved when Kakashi dispelled his dangerous new jutsu.

“I want _answers_ , Sandaime-sama,” he growled, never taking his eyes off of Kadeshi, who was still looking at him in a strange way.

“That is why we are here, Kakashi-kun, to find answers. Your anger will not expedite the process, so please, calm yourself so that Kadeshi-san may have a chance to explain himself,” he ordered. Kakashi frowned at the name, but waited for his leader to make the first move. The old man gestured to Kadeshi.

“For Kakashi-kun’s sake, will you please repeat your name and relation to Sakumo-san,” he asked gently. Kadeshi bowed his head.

“I am Hatake Kadeshi, Sakumo’s brother. Based on your reaction to me, I would say you’re the nephew I didn’t know I had,” he summed up, well aware that there were enough clues to easily pick up on the family resemblance. Kakashi ground his teeth behind his mask, a subtle action that Kadeshi recognized from the way the mask moved over Kakashi’s face and from personal experience.

“It is well known that Sakumo did not speak of his family with anyone, even his wife. Is there any way you can prove to us that you are a Hatake, my friend?” the Hokage asked, clasping his hands behind his back and ignoring the fact that Kadeshi and Kakashi could have been father and son. Kadeshi held his gaze before nodding and reaching into his pocket for a familiar medallion, but came up empty. He cursed softly to himself for losing the token that Akio had given him, but he had no choice but to try another way. Jiraiya offered his assistance when he noticed Kadeshi struggling to move Naru off of his lap.

“Here, let me,” he offered as his hands hovered over the teen’s skin long enough to receive permission from the boy’s sensei. Kadeshi paused, but gave his approval with a simple nod. Jiraiya picked up the sleeping blond, cradling him gently as he laid the boy in the next bed over from the scarecrow’s. Kadeshi couldn’t help but smile bitterly at the sight of beloved sensei and student together, if only for a brief moment.

Free from his human blanket, Kadeshi stood up stiffly. He turned around and gestured for someone to help him pull up the back of his shirt. Tsunade’s deft hands were cold wherever she brushed the man’s back while she assisted. Together they managed to pull his hospital shirt up high enough to reveal a white chrysanthemum lined with black ink. The tattoo itself was no bigger than the palm of Kadeshi’s hand. It represented far more than delicacy and beauty, however. At the time he got the mark, Kakashi believed in absolute obedience, no matter the cost. He wore the chrysanthemum to show his loyalty to his leader and to Konoha, a man unwavering in his dedication.

“Is this enough, Lord Hokage?” he asked. Luckily enough, little Kakashi wouldn’t have gotten his own yet. Based on the widening of his young eyes, Kakashi was well aware that he was looking at a symbol of his clan. Kadeshi remembered getting his tattoo when he turned twenty-five, as was the right of all Hatake men if they lived long enough to see twenty-five. The tattoos were meant to be a permanent reminder of the delicate line that separated justice and cruelty.

The Sandaime was satisfied, aware of Sakumo’s own tattoo, a white zinnia flower that gave him strength and compassion for his fellow man. While pursuing a profession that could effortlessly turn him into a cold blooded murder, one of Sakumo’s greatest fears was losing his humanity and stripping it away from the son who adored him.

“Seeing as you are the only known relative of Hatake Sakumo aside from his son, you have a right to know what has become of your brother,” he started. Kadeshi was fixing his clothing when he heard the old man’s words. “Hatake Sakumo killed himself eight years ago. His son, Hatake Kakashi, is the only other remaining member of the Hatake clan besides yourself.” Kadeshi’s face showed his surprise.

“He… He killed… That bastard!” he cursed, showing a smoldering kind of anger that had been stored away from his early years. His emotions begged for release, begged to have the chance to destroy something but Kadeshi was a better shinobi than that. His shoulders slumped and the fight left his body.

“Forgive me for my outburst. I would also like to thank you for your honesty,” he said with a bow before he found Kakashi’s gaze. The air was tense between them, but the exhaustion of both parties was easily visible to everyone in the room. “Did you come after me because you thought I was him?” he asked Kakashi, sitting down on the edge of his bed. Jiraiya and Tsunade shot their mentor questioning looks, but the old man skillfully ignored them. Minato was almost ready to voice his own concerns for his quiet student when Kakashi chose to speak up.

“Stay the hell away from me, for your own sake,” he suggested, bowing stiffly to the Hokage before leaping back out the window. Kadeshi was honestly surprised at how fast his younger self had found him. He would have to remain on high alert for the near future to avoid any unsavory meetings with him. The last thing Kadeshi wanted was to make any enemy out of his cold and vindictive self.

“I apologize for his actions, Kadeshi-san. Kakashi-kun is very quick to lose his temper, I’m afraid,” Minato offered, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Kadeshi found it momentarily amusing that Naru had inherited the same nervous quirk from his father. He nodded at the Jonin.

“There’s no need. You were right about me, you know,” finding a shocking amount of despair hiding inside of himself as he came to terms with his own choices. “There was a time in my life when I lost a lot of people that I loved because I was being careless. After that, I made the distance between myself and everyone else great enough that they couldn’t be harmed by my failures. Now the only family I have left is a nephew who can’t stand to look at me,” he admitted, thoroughly defeated.

Warmth spread through his body, reminding him that he wasn’t alone. Looking up, Kadeshi noticed the soft smile on Naru’s face. He hadn’t woken up, but even in his sleep he could feel the distress of his comrade and was there to offer him comfort. Kadeshi suddenly chuckled, clenching his fist tightly in front of his chest.

“It seems I’m an idiot, too. How could I forget about Naru? He’d remind me that there’s nothing stopping me from being there for Kakashi when he needs it. Just because I’ve wasted so much of my life, that doesn’t mean I can’t try something new for a change,” he said with a smile. Apparently, the Sandaime found his resolve pleasing enough.

“You have given us no reason to doubt your presence or your identities, and I suggest you keep it that way. Should you wish it, you may stay here in Konoha for the duration of the war. You will be escorted by a shinobi of the village for the first week of your stay to give you a layout of the village and provide you with any services you may need,” he explained. Kadeshi understood that they would be watched very closely.

“Very well,” he agreed, happy that they didn’t have to fight harder to get a spot in the village, which could very well be suspicious on its own. “What if we want to enlist as shinobi?” Kadeshi asked, not eager to be spending his days as a one-armed housewife with acute paranoia and a magic eye to a hyperactive blond with a knack for getting into trouble. The skeptical glances he received courtesy of the stump that was his left arm made him sigh.

“You’re giving us a babysitter for a week, aren’t you? Give me that long to figure out how to fight with one arm. Then you can decide whether or not you’ll let me in the field. Just promise me one thing,” he trailed off, jerking his thumb over at the snoozing blond. “Promise me that you’ll let him fight. That boy is a strong shinobi and he’ll drive himself stir crazy if he’s not allowed to leave the village. Test him all you’d like, I would gladly lay my life in his hands.” Hiruzen nodded his head.

“Very well, I believe that your suggestions are fair. You will have a spar one week after you are discharged from the hospital. You will fight one of our top Jonin in order to test your skill. Naru-kun will also be tried at that time, so I know what kind of missions he can handle. When the time comes, I will assign Minato-kun here to assist you in the village and supervise your training. Your nephew, Kakashi-kun, is one of the Chunin on Minato’s four man team. Odds are you will be seeing a lot of them in the near future,” he said, noting the excitement that lurked beneath the surface of Kadeshi’s being.

“What about living arrangements when we finally get out of this stuffy place? We shouldn’t take up space in the hospital when we don’t need to be,” the scarecrow pointed out.

“Would you like to stay nearby your nephew? He’s in a rather large apartment complex in the shinobi districts. You could also choose to stay at the old Hatake Compound, for the time being, at least until you can start earning your own wages,” he suggested. Kadeshi weighed his options.

“We’ll stay at the compound. We’ll be close but not close enough to make Kakashi think he’s being followed around by the ghost of his father,” Kadeshi said light-heartedly. Tsunade bristled with fury.

“Who said you were free to leave, ‘cause I sure as hell didn’t! Your student may have patched you up with his weird plant powers, but you’re still my patient and severely injured. As for him,” here she pointed at Naru, much like Kadeshi had earlier, “he’s barely recovered from having chakra exhaustion! As far as I’m concerned, neither of you are fit to leave _my_ hospital, let alone leave it for combat or training.” Kadeshi frowned.

“Naru will be fine, Tsunade-sama, he’s had worse, I assure you of that. As for me, well, I’m feeling a hundred and ten percent, so I don’t see why I have to stay. Besides, you have no jurisdiction over me just yet. I’m not a shinobi of Konoha until a week from today,” he argued, hand on his hip. Jiraiya would have whistled at the sheer sass of the action, but he had no desire to divert Tsunade’s rage towards himself.

“A hundred and ten percent? Do you want me to knock you six feet under? Don’t test me,” she hissed. The corners of Kadeshi’s mouth quirked up, announcing his death wish to the world.

“Just because you feel jealous of my cute little student’s sage abilities, that doesn’t mean you can take it out on the rest of us, you old bat. That’s just plain rude.” The room was so silent, they could have heard a pin drop. Jiraiya looked miserable as he threw himself in the way of his old teammate as she carved a warpath strait to Kadeshi.

“Please refrain from antagonizing my student, Kadeshi-san. I’d rather not have to explain to Naru-kun how you died if you meet an untimely end by her hand,” he drawled. “Be patient and focus on recovering, you will be out of here soon enough.” Kadeshi bowed his head, settling into his bed once more, ignoring Jiraiya’s desperate call for Minato to help him fight off the enraged Titan.

Hiruzen sighed heavily, stepping to the side as Minato was thrown into the wall where he had been standing. The blond man valiantly leapt back into the fray as soon as his head stopped spinning. 

Naru was snoring gently in his bed, oblivious to the chaos ensuing around him. The Sandaime gazed out the broken window into the streets below, seeing his villagers mingling peacefully, without a care nor knowledge of the storm that he could feel brewing on the horizon. Kadeshi and Naru’s appearance was likely far from coincidental. Something big was going to happen soon. The Sandaime could only hope that he wasn’t making a mistake by allowing the two unknowns to stay in the village.


	10. A Lapse in Judgement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Office of the Sandaime Hokage

“Where,  _ exactly _ , did they come from? And why have you allowed them the luxury of staying in the village’s hospital rather than Torture & Interrogation?” a hard voice asked the Hokage. Hiruzen sighed, setting down the report he had been skimming to meet the steely gaze of one of his oldest comrades. Shimura Danzo may have been a thorn in his side with all of his shady methods of handling problems, but he was still a friend.

“I myself thought they were interesting but they must be especially so if they have caught your eye, my friend. Based on what they have told us, and what they have not, they are wanderers. There is an excellent partnership there and I have no doubt they communicate secretly, even in the presence of an outside listener. Their bond is strong, to say the least. Naru, the boy, has incredible instincts and shows protectiveness of a recognized leader, though I am still trying to determine if that particular instance was just a coincidence. Last but not least, he is a powerful sage. One of the best that Jiraiya has ever seen,” he admitted, noting the sour look that adorned Danzo’s face when his student was mentioned. The uptight advisor never did appreciate the Toad Sannin’s enigmatic, borderline obnoxious, way of life. That, or the fact that he ran a spy network that was larger and more successful than his own. Either way, they weren’t on the best of terms.

“And the other one? Do you really believe that he is a Hatake?” Danzo asked, but he was distracted by something that stood out in his peripheral vision. He quirked an eyebrow at the impressively large plant sitting on the floor in the far corner of the Hokage’s office, near the man’s desk. It used to be small enough to sit on one of the small tables, but it was clearly larger, and healthier, than the last time he had seen it. Hiruzen nodded, reaching into his pocket for something and successfully drawing Danzo’s attention away from the plant.

“I believe they are who they say they are. The boy is certainly an Uzumaki with the amount of natural energy that he can manipulate at once. As for Hatake Kadeshi, he would have had to kill Sakumo to get this from him,” he declared, revealing a pretty silver token to the old war hawk. Pacing forwards, the old man took the medallion and examined either side, recognizing it from the one time he had caught a glimpse of it while Sakumo was carrying it on his person. The Sandaime was right about the fact that Sakumo wouldn’t give such a prized weapon to anybody unless they killed him for it.

The emergence of a new Hatake was an interesting development. Coupled with the fact that he traveled with a boy that looked like the brother of their own Yellow Flash, their existence became more and more mysterious as every new clue was uncovered.

“Do we have any evidence to suggest that they are spies working for Iwa or another Hidden Village?” The Sandaime was growing tired of the ceaseless barrage of questions being hurled at him. He leveled Danzo with an irritated glare before accepting the silver medallion back from him and replacing it with a sheathed tanto blade.

Danzo looked at it, examining ever crevice and crack in it. Glancing up at the Sandaime, he held onto the weapon rather than placing it back on the man’s desk. “It is a standard issue tanto from an Iwa shinobi, though it is hard to tell whether or not it was stolen. There is something strange about it, however,” he mused, narrowing his eye ever so slightly. Whistling sharply, Danzo summoned one of his cronies from the shadows of the office. He tossed the weapon over to his shinobi.

Hiruzen watched, intrigued, as the man caught the blade and unsheathed it. He made no further movements afterwards, remaining perfectly still as he listened patiently for his next command. Danzo smirked, the seedling of an idea beginning to sprout in his mind. The Sandaime cocked an eyebrow, waiting for something more, unsatisfied that the demonstration had already come to an end.

“This boy, Uzumaki Naru, has Jiraiya determined anything unusual about the seal on his stomach?” he asked, dismissing the shinobi he had called without retrieving the tanto from him. The Sandaime couldn’t stop the sigh from escaping his lips. The easing of one headache just led to the creation of another every time he thought of the young blond and his moody sensei.

“How do you mean, unusual?” Hiruzen asked in return, wondering just how much surveillance his advisor’s underground army had already done on the two strangers. Danzo’s smirk returned because he knew that Hiruzen wouldn’t like his answer.

“Is it not a seal meant for a Bijuu? A seal that just so happens to be empty?” he pointed out. The Sandaime could not concede so easily to the other man. He figured Danzo would be tracking them, but the information that he had been able to collect should have remained out of his grasp.

“While it is true that there is no Bijuu inside of Uzumaki Naru, there is something locked away inside of him. Something with the potential to be even more dangerous,” he said, feeding Danzo one of his hunches rather than actual fact. The slight variance in his stoic expression led the Sandaime to believe that the war hawk was taking the bait.

“Do tell, my old friend. What power is he hiding from us?” he pressed, leaning forward on his old walking stick.

_ ‘Someday that old cane of yours is going to snap in half when you lean on it like you are now. I hope I’m there to see you squawk like a plucked chicken, scrambling to piece together your dignity before anyone else sees you without it,’ _ he thought viciously, smiling gently at his old teammate.

“Is there anything else you would like to inquire about, old friend?” Hiruzen asked, steepling his fingers on top of his desk. “I’m afraid I don’t know much more about the boy than what I’ve already told you,” he lied. The old war hawk waited for a moment longer, staring down the old Sarutobi before bowing his head and admitting a temporary defeat.

“Be careful not to trust them too readily, Hiruzen. In a time of war, the enemy will attack from every place you least expect them to have slithered into. Watch yourself, old friend,” he warned before leaving without another word. The Sandaime clenched his clasped hands together, tightening his muscles until his arms were shaking with the amount of strain he was placing on himself.

“Are you alright, old man?” a small toad asked, emerging from the underside of one of the leaves of the giant plant. With one graceful leap, the looming form of Jiraiya emerged from the mouth of the toad and quickly saw to his mentor. The old man waved his student off, leaning back in his chair with a gentler sigh than all of those that came previously.

“I have a task for you and Minato-kun, Jiraiya. Before that, however, I would like you to summon one of your sage masters to have a look at Naru,” he requested. “I’m afraid we don’t know enough about his ability and what exactly he can accomplish with the level of skill he has already shown.” Jiraiya flashed his sensei a crooked grin.

“I sent word on the way here, old man. Fukasaku-sensei should be here in the morning.” The Sandaime nodded, a thoughtful look adorning his aging features.

“Danzo seems to believe that we need to do a better job securing our guests. Please have Minato-kun help you fortify their security detail,” he asked, closing his eyes for a moment to think. Jiraiya smirked.

“We’re going to wipe the smirk right off of that old bastard’s face, sensei, don’t worry,” he laughed, leaving in search of his fair haired student. The Sandaime let a smile pull up the corners of his mouth.

“That’s what I’m counting on.”

  
  


#### Konoha Hospital- The Next Morning

Naru woke up slowly, drowsy and shivering because his sheet had fallen off of his torso at some point. Through the haze of his sleep, he realized that he was being watched. It wasn’t a subtle feeling, like if someone was lounging in the room with him and glancing over to make sure he was still breathing. The feeling was sharper, like if he was being pricked by needles where the eyes were roaming his body.

Rolling over, he snuggled deeper into the bed, drawing in his pillow and burying his face into it. He managed to snag the end of his sheet and pull it up around his shoulders. The bedsheets themselves were soft, filled with the scents of the various people who had visited their room in the last few days. Naru wasn’t going to give that up just to confront whatever bastard drew the short straw and had to watch him sleep. Right as he was about to drift off again, a mellow voice cut right through his muffled hearing like a scream in the dead silence of night.

“Oi, Naru.” With a gasp of surprise, he sat up straight in his bed, heart racing as he found himself nose-to-chest with the only other person in the room. A rather sheepish looking Kadeshi, who was well aware that he unintentionally scared the daylights out of his student, chuckled awkwardly, holding up his hand in surrender. “Sorry about that,” he offered from the boy’s bedside.

Naru growled, latching onto his pillow and swinging it at the standing man with a huff. “What the hell, sensei?!” he grumbled, satisfied after making a solid first contact. Kadeshi looked amused, but physically no worse for the wear, so Naru was satisfied with his attempt at retaliation.

“I can’t wake my precious little student up to tell him good morning? What has the world come to?” the older man lamented, stepping back and sitting on his own bed with a dramatic hand held to his forehead. The sound of Naru’s teeth grinding in his mouth was enough to dissuade the scarecrow from any further shenanigans until the young shinobi was in a better mood.

“How are you feeling, Naru? You’ve never lost this much chakra before, is your body managing without it?” Kadeshi asked, more serious than ever. Naru couldn’t help the sigh that escaped him.

“I feel empty. My body is still trying to replenish the chakra that it lost, but even with all of it back, I don’t think I would feel any different,” he admitted. Kadeshi frowned, having already speculated on potential physical changes that could befall Naru by losing Kurama. The biggest question on his mind was one that would be hard to ask and answer in a less-than-private setting. Nevertheless, he would try.

“Have you had a chance to meditate and assess your condition for yourself?” he asked, hoping the blond would pick up what he was really trying to ask. He wanted to know if Naru had checked his mindscape for any sign of Kurama or anything else that could be classified as unusual. Naru shook his head, a bitter expression crossing his face, but only for a moment.

“I don’t need to meditate, it won’t speed anything up or tell me anything I don’t already know,” he said, sounding much too defeated. “What about you, sensei? How’s the arm?” Kadeshi shrugged, gently rubbing his left shoulder above where the bandages were the most heavily concentrated.

“It hurts, but the pain is manageable. As for the rest of me, banged up and bruised but still functional. I also suppose that I have you to thank for how smooth my chakra is running right now. It’ll take some creativity and some getting used to, but I doubt I will be jutsu-less for the rest of my life,” he said with a nod of thanks. Naru smiled back at him, confident that his sensei wouldn’t be any less fierce of a shinobi now than he had been when he still had both of his arms.

They settled into a comfortable silence, both lost in their thoughts of the bizarre situation they had managed to land themselves in. Finally, Naru opened his mouth to speak.

“Are we going to stay?” he asked, getting up from his bed and meandering over to the window, unable to help his desire to bask in the warm light being offered to him. Kadeshi leaned back on his hand, watching his young student.

“I think it would be in our best interests for now. We don’t know how far the war has progressed and ending up this far into Fire Country, we would probably have to walk through a war zone to get to anywhere that could be considered safe,” he pointed out. Naru pursed his lips as he considered their next move. “We can talk about our plans for the future later, after we’ve had some time to adjust to life here in the village.”

“And if the village decides that they don’t really want us, what then? Where will we go?” Naru asked, turning to look back at Kadeshi. The silver haired man sat up straight, sending over a small smile.

“Then we’ll do what we do best, Naru. We’ll survive.” The boy offered his own sad smile.

“Someday we won’t have to anymore,” he said. Kadeshi sighed, standing up slowly and crossing the room to stand beside his subdued friend.

“I hope you’re right. We’ve got a long road ahead of us,” he said. Naru laughed.

“Is the short road ever an option anymore? Last time I checked, simple errands always go sideways at least twice when we attempt them,” he said, trying to smother his giggles. Kadeshi couldn’t help but laugh alongside him.

“You’re definitely right about that,” he agreed. They both quieted their laughter when a small object landed on their windowsill. Naru blinked at it owlishly before his eyes blew wide.

“Oh shi-” he started, but Kadeshi recognized the boy’s look of surprise and immediately inserted himself between Naru and whatever was outside the window. He hoped he was fast enough to protect the blond, but no attack came from the bundle of cloth sitting just outside. After another second he could feel a life force lingering there.

Kadeshi stopped abruptly and took a closer look at the bundle of cloth on the windowsill. A stern face stared back at him from within the little tailored cloak. “Naru… it’s a toad. That’s… oh,” he slipped, unable to stop himself from visibly reacting to their newest visitor.

_ ‘Jiraiya-chan told me that they were an interesting pair, but to be received in such a manner is certainly interesting,’ _ Fukasaku said with a quirk of one of his bushy eyebrows, reaching for the edge of the window and throwing it open without warning. “Excuse me, but I’m coming in!” he announced, catching the rapid exchange of glances that passed between worried student and startled sensei.

“Why do I get the feeling that you two are not entirely pleased to see me?” Fukasaku asked, folding his arms and turning a sour glare upon the both of them. Naru swallowed his nervousness and tried to reapply the mask he had been wearing for the last few days.

“Wow! You’re a toad geezer who can talk! It must be our lucky day!” Naru exclaimed, unsure of how compromised they had left themselves. If it was just Naru who reacted to the old toad’s presence, it could be passed off as a feeling that came through his senjutsu, but Kadeshi’s response was too much to remain ignorant of.

“No, no, Naru he’s a frog, can’t you tell? He looks exactly like a frog and nothing like a toad,” he argued, sticking his face next to the Sage’s, obnoxiously sizing him up. Fukasaku had a moment of doubt, wondering if he was just imagining the anxiousness that he had seen in both of their faces when he first alighted on their windowsill.

_ ‘I’ll need to take a closer look at the blond one. He’s the one that Jiraiya-chan is most worried about,’ _ he recalled, not waiting for an invitation to act. Leaping past Kadeshi, Fukasaku hurled an invisible fist of nature energy at Naru, eager to see how he would react. Frog Kata was an art exclusively taught by the Toads of Mount Myoboku and incredibly hard to defend against. At least, it was, unless you knew how the technique worked.

Naru was caught by surprise and did the first thing he could think of: send an equally as powerful punch to cancel out the first. As soon as the energy surged out of his arm, he realized exactly how much he had just screwed up. Fukasaku’s astounded expression confirmed that he had just landed them in some deep water.

“Did you just…” he trailed off, realizing that the boy had not only returned his Frog Kata, but matched it perfectly in strength. To do so, he would have had to analyze the force of the attack in an instant and generate the same in even less than that. Even an advanced student like Jiraiya would have a hard time pulling off such a feat. Not only that, the natural energy of the earth lingered around Naru, embracing him.

In the stillness that followed, Kadeshi’s eye switched back and forth between Fukasaku and Naru, neither of whom would budge an inch. “ _ Naru _ ,” Kadeshi hissed, already accepting of the fact that they had been compromised. They needed to leave before anybody troublesome appeared to confront them. Naru held his hand up to stop him, however, when Fukasaku opened his mouth to speak again.

“You know more than just the Art of the Fox, don’t you? Where did you learn Toad Sage Arts?” he asked, more interested in finding out that tidbit of information rather than whatever Jiraiya thought the boy was hiding. If Mount Myoboku’s sacred teachings had been compromised, they needed to know about it.

“Observant as always, Fukasaku-sama,” Naru’s gentle voice called to him from the other side of the room. He sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his head, carrying himself vastly differently now that he was more relaxed than the bumbling fool that Konoha was so suspicious of. If this confident man was Naru’s real self, Konoha had good reason to be suspicious.

“Who are you? And answer my question about where you learned your sage abilities,” he pressed. Naru smiled down at him with kindness, offering no malice despite having to reveal himself to the old toad.

“Give us just a minute, please,” he asked, meeting his sensei’s eye and silently asking for his support. Kadeshi sighed but nodded, he would be there for his student, no matter the peril. Crossing his fingers, Naru created three shadow clones, all of whom disappeared into the ceiling to subdue the ANBU stationed there to guard them. Fukasaku was all too aware of the proposed importance of the coming conversation. After a minute filled with the quiet sound of struggling, Naru’s smile turned into a grin and he sat on the ground to be closer to Fukasaku. With a bow of his head, he began.

“I am Uzumaki Naruto, jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, Kurama. Kurama trained me in the sage arts while we were still partners, but he has since left my body,” Naru explained. The little frog paused to think.

“You claim that you used to be partners, but I have a working knowledge of all the Bijuu in existence and Uzumaki Kushina has been keeper of the Kyuubi for more than a decade now. Are you trying to tell me that you are not from this world?” he asked seriously. Naru nodded.

“We are from this world,” he began. Kadeshi kindly finished for him.

“But we are not of this timeline. Not anymore, at least,” he said with a huff of exasperation. Fukasaku’s eyes widened considerably.

“How?” Was the only word he could force out. Naru plopped his chin in his hand and rested his elbows on his knees, formulating his answer.

“Kurama showed me how to use a jutsu that required all of his chakra and all of mine to complete. We were desperate and we’d hit the wall at that point. We had no choice but to try again and prevent our future from coming to pass. More than anything, I just wanted to live with my sensei in peace, but we would both be worse for it if we didn’t try to change the bad things that happened. Konoha happened to find me when I used that jutsu, otherwise I doubt we would have come here. It would be so much easier to move outside of the light, but alas, it was not meant to be,” he explained. Fukasaku was still astonished by the notion of time travel.

“Who are you, then? Somebody that I know in the future?” he asked. Naru nodded his head with a smile. Kadeshi was confident in letting his blond pupil take the lead with Fukasaku. Naru had spent more time with the old toad than he had, after all.

“I can show you, if you want?” he offered, extending his hand to the little toad. Fukasaku was hesitant, but he felt that he could trust the boy if the earth did so explicitly. He grasped a few of the boy’s fingers and his mind was flooded with a string of memories. He learned more about the strange blond in a few seconds than he cared to know. A tear fell from his eye.

“Naruto-chan… oh my,” was all that he could say. The sadness in Naru’s eyes was clear to the toad sage, as well as the exhaustion he tried to hide with his nice posture. Fukasaku suddenly jumped up and whacked Naru on the head. The tense mood was broken instantly and the blond whined, holding the new welt on his forehead.

“What was that for toad geezer?!” he whined, ignoring Kadeshi’s quiet snickering. The little toad stood on angry feet and balled a slimy fist, shaking it at Naru.

“I trained you as a toad Sage and you use the art of the fox instead?! Apparently I didn’t beat enough of those rocks you call a brain back into usable pieces,” he said indignantly, crossing his arms with a huff. Naru fell over, feigning hurt.

“Rocks? You think my head is filled with rocks?” he said lamely, crying fake tears. Kadeshi stopped laughing, but the mithful expression on his face wasn’t helping the young blond any. Fukasaku patted Naru’s face while it was half smooshed into the floor tiles.

“Now now, Naruto-chan, I understand the reason for your use of the fox’s sage abilities rather than the toad’s in this situation. All things considered, you have my support,” he said, finishing on a serious note. Naru sat up straight once more and bowed his head in thanks. Fukasaku took up the boy’s hand again with both of his this time. He bowed his own head to an astonished Naru.

“You have my blessing, dear boy. I will protect your secret and do whatever I can to ensure that your identity, and the identity of your sensei remain undiscovered. Will you need the help of the toads on your mission?” he asked. Naru shook his head.

“There is no need Fukasaku-sama, though I appreciate the offer. I thank you for your help. At this point, I think I need it,” he admitted, chuckling lamely while he rubbed the back of his head. Fukasaku sighed but he couldn’t wipe the smile off of his own face.

“I wish you luck, Naruto-chan, you will surely need a little more of that,” he advised. “Before I go, I am curious as to how you have managed to channel sage energy so quickly as to allow for instantaneous activation of sage mode. In all my years I have never seen a Sage Master capable of such flawless activation,” the old toad pointed out. Naru’s smile was bittersweet.

“Children are the best candidates as jinchuuriki because their chakra networks grow with the chakra that a Bijuu offers, making them inseparable and allowing the host the greatest potential for using the beast’s power. Adults spend too much time fighting to acclimate the Bijuu’s chakra into already developed systems. They hardly have any stable chakra left over for their use. Jinchuuriki who lose their Bijuu usually die because their chakra systems are ripped open through their seals and are irreparable afterwards. Their chakra leaks out of their bodies until they die with no way of stopping it. When we came here, Kurama had been stripped out of me; body, chakra and all. I had nothing left,” Naru explained, absently rubbing at his arm.

“Kurama fed his chakra into my system, mixing it with my own so I could give it to Kadeshi and keep us together. Every bit of my own chakra was sucked out of me too, which is why I was so near death when Minato’s team found me. The only reason I am alive today is because the earth felt our plight, mine and Kadeshi’s and Kurama’s, and she replaced my chakra with her own energy until I could make enough to keep myself alive. The system that was failing without Kurama’s chakra was filled with her own and it’s still there even now,” he revealed, much to Fukasaku’s astonishment.

“Are you saying-” he started, but Naru finished the thought for him.

“I have become a Jinchuuriki of the earth’s energy, Fukasaku-sama. The wealth of her power rests at my fingertips. I hear her voice when I am in need of guidance and I can draw from her might with a snap of my fingers.” It all made sense to Fukusaku. He could tell without any effort that the boy had an acclimation to Senjutsu just by feeling his presence. The old toad understood why the earth felt Naru to be a worthy host for her powers. He was certainly the Chosen One. With a smile, he patted the boy’s hand.

“I must take my leave now, Naruto-chan. Jiraiya-chan and the Sandaime are waiting for my input,” he said with a grimace. Naru grinned at him.

“Are you sure you don’t want that luck for yourself?” he laughed. Fukasaku chuckled alongside him, eager for the day he would finally get to meet the boy in person. He hoped that he would see him again soon. He knew that he would eventually. It was only a matter of time.


	11. The Royal Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

As the old toad departed, Naru and Kadeshi exchanged sighs of relief, glad that they had managed to dodge such a major bullet. No doubt, Fukasaku had been sent by the Hokage to squeeze information out of Naru through his sage abilities. Luckily, they managed to win him over.

“We need to deal with the ANBU sleeping upstairs,” Naru reminded Kadeshi, pointing at the ceiling with a quirk of his brow. The old Hatake sighed again, stretching his stiff limbs.

“You better come up with a good excuse as to why I’m so tired all of a sudden, Naru,” Kadeshi warned, leaving to alter the memories of the ANBU stationed to guard them. Using his Sharingan with the current state of his body was sure to wear Kadeshi out faster than either of them could predict. With a little bit more luck, they wouldn’t have any anxiety-inducing visitors for the next few hours.

#### Office of the Sandaime Hokage

“Fukasaku-sama, it is a pleasure to see you again,” the Sandaime greeted, bowing his head to the Great Sage. Fukasaku returned the greeting, nodding to Jiraiya and Minato in turn. Tsunade would have made an appearance but she was recovering from a serious hangover after a night out with Jiraiya the previous day.

“You asked me to pay a visit to that boy Uzumaki Naru and his sensei. We spent a fair amount of time in each other’s company and I have learned more than I expected to about the young man. What is it, exactly, that you want to know?” the Toad asked, folding his webbed hands in his lap and staring at the three men from his spot on the windowsill. The Sandaime sighed, tired already even though the day had hardly begun.

“Senjutsu is not my area of expertise, so I am afraid that I would not know the right questions to ask. What I will say, is that we want to know whether or not he is being honest with us. Their story is quite spectacular, and if it is true, then we will gladly open our village to them, but if they are lying, we will have no choice but to take precautionary measures before they bring harm to Konoha,” he declared without any room for compromise. He made perfectly clear without explicitly telling Fukasaku that they would be handed over to Torture and Interrogation without the batting of a single eye.

Fukasaku caught Minato and Jiraiya’s slight frowns out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps that meant there would be a few hesitant members of the interrogation party. The old toad had no doubt that it was because they constantly felt Naru’s strong sage abilities. Though neither Minato or his sensei had achieved mastery of the Toad arts, they were not immune to the power of senjutsu when they came across a true master.

“They told me of how they came to be here in Konoha, and I have to agree, their road has been both long and perilous. What they told you about Naru’s seal, and the presence of a Bijuu at some point can be confirmed based on the lingering hint of foul chakra that I could feel within his body. He would be dead if the beast was torn out of him, so he is not a risk of unleashing a beast on the village, but you should know that already,” Fukasaku surmised, pleased to see the nodding heads of his three listeners.

“Is there any way to tell that he is lying through senjutsu? I have a hard time getting a read on that boy when we interact. There is always something about him that distracts me from paying attention to what he’s truly saying,” Jiraiya admitted. Fukasaku was surprised to learn that Jiraiya has a soft spot for the young Uzumaki. It was rather fitting, seeing as he would be the boy’s godfather and his sensei someday.

“There is in fact, a way, Jiraiya-chan,” he said, noticing Minato perk up from his place beside his teacher. “Using sage mode allows the wielder to feel the emotions of those around him, down to their very intentions, whether they be good or evil. I am aware that Naru allowed all of you to feel the power of his sage mode and your own when he healed his sensei, correct?” he asked. Minato answered out loud for the others.

“I remember feeling his hope and his compassion while we were there. He bore no ill will towards any of us, though I do not know if that was because his attention was focused elsewhere,” he admitted. Fukasaku nodded his head, holding a small hand to his chin.

“Did any of you feel anything from the boy’s sensei?” He was hoping that the answer was either good or at the very least, non-incriminating. Fukasaku would have a harder time covering for the boy’s sensei if he was a cesspit of negativity. Jiraiya and Minato had no recollection, but the Sandaime was not so quick to dismiss the Hatake Kadeshi.

“Now that I am aware of what you describe to be their emotions and intentions, I found myself honing in on Kadeshi. He was in a dark place, saturated with guilt and pain, most of which he brought upon himself mentally rather than physically,” he explained. Fukasaku’s mind began to piece together a hopefully suitable explanation as to why the man could be mentally unstable but still a great boon to Konoha. “In addition to those feelings, his intentions spoke only of a desire to right wrongs and do good, which leads me to believe that he is of sound character despite his inner turmoil.” Fukasaku was grateful to have dodged that bullet. He figured it was time to wrap up the report, before he could accidentally give up any information that was damning.

“If there ever comes a time when you need to interrogate them, use Naru’s senjutsu to see him with sage mode. I believe that he will let you in the interest of proving his own innocence and that of his mentor’s. You do not have to fear his manipulation of your bodies or minds when sage mode is activated. If he tries, you will be able to sense it before it happens, in which case you can deal with him however you choose,” Fukasaku paused to collect his final thoughts. “I wholeheartedly believe that this boy means you no harm. He and his sensei have encountered many struggles up to this point, and I feel that this is their chance to finally settle down and _live_. If you have any other concerns, you know how to reach me,” he said finally.

The Sandaime thanked the old toad before he could depart with a quick puff of smoke. Jiraiya was still deep in thought, but Minato, less so. “I trust in Fukasaku-sama’s assessment, given his positive relationship to Konoha and his own connection to senjutsu. When they are ready to leave the hospital I want you and your Chunin Team to supervise their adjustment to the village, Minato-kun,” the Sandaime ordered. Minato bowed respectfully before excusing himself to meet his team for training. He was pleased to have the opportunity to interact with both Naru and Kadeshi in the future.

“Anything you want to tell me, Jiraiya?” the Sandaime asked, startling his student out of whatever stupor he had fallen into.

“Is it just me, or does Naru look more than just a _little_ like Minato?”

#### Konoha Hospital

“Kadeshi-san, are you feeling alright? If the physical therapy is too much stress for your body, then you need to let us know so we can adjust your regimen,” the head nurse, Kumiko, scolded, folding her arms and frowning at him when he failed to complete all of his stretches for the third time that afternoon. Naru’s head perked up from his spot over by the window, looking at his sensei with more concern than usual.

Kadeshi sighed, sitting on the edge of his bed and rubbing the back of his neck while he tried to catch his breath. He was more than capable of doing what the kind nurse was asking him to do, but he was still tired from using his Sharingan to wipe the memories of the ANBU still watching him from the ceiling.

“Forgive me, Kumiko-san,” he started, finally able to speak properly. “I guess I’m a little more out of shape than I thought I was. All the excitement from the last few days has been slowing me down. Give me a few minutes and I’ll do the rest, please,” he asked her with a gentle smile. She sighed in defeat and nodded once.

“Alright, Kadeshi-san. Take the rest of the afternoon to rest, you look pretty beat up and I have no doubt you feel worse than that. Call if you need anything, I’ll be doing my rounds,” she decided, scribbling some notes on her clipboard before turning to leave. Kadeshi looked relieved, but it was a short-lived feeling.

“Kumiko-san! Please wait!” Naru called, rising from his seat and approaching her. She turned with an inquisitive look adorning her pretty features.

“What is it, Naru-san?” she asked, well aware of the glare Kadeshi was shooting his student. She barely contained herself from glaring back at the older man, well aware that he was trying to weasel out of any more physical therapy for the day. Naru bowed his head politely.

“May we speak outside please? There’s something private I wanted to ask you about.” Kumiko blinked, clearly not expecting that, but she agreed nonetheless, holding the door for Naru and the ANBU that appeared to follow them into the hallway. Kadeshi’s suspicious look of distress brought joy to her heart.

After Naru returned, he and Kadeshi didn’t have any visitors for the rest of the day, leaving Naru and Kadeshi some time to think without the pressure of so many eyes watching them. That evening, after the nurses had all left for the night, they lay in their separate beds and let their minds sort through everything that had come to pass since their arrival in the past.

“Sensei?” Naru asked quietly, rolling onto his side to see if the older man was still awake. Kadeshi turned his head towards his youthful student, shifting so he could face him properly.

“What is it, Naru?” he responded, sensing the inner turmoil within the sound of Naru’s voice. The blond sighed, struggling to come up with the right words.

“What are we doing here?” he eventually asked, only to be met with silence. Kadeshi had been asking himself the same question as well. They had no obligation to serve the Leaf Village as shinobi given their backstory as wanderers, even after being treated in Konoha’s hospital. Was there anything stopping them from leaving and never looking back? They would be safer outside of the village walls, despite the war raging across the Elemental Nations. From the shadows they could turn dials and lay traps that would swing the tide of the war in ways that only they were capable of predicting. They didn’t need the protection of the Leaf, they were plenty strong already.

Staying only brought them closer to danger, and to being discovered. If it came down to a fight, could they really turn their fists against their loved ones? Especially those who had been ripped away from them once before. Their odds in such a situation would be slim, certainly not ideal.

Despite that line of thinking, Kadeshi knew they wouldn’t be nearly as successful if they tried to go at it alone. “We’re here because we can’t outrun the war forever, Naru,” he explained. “We’re good at running, keeping ahead of it, but we’ll grow tired eventually and get swallowed up before we even realize that we’ve lost,” he admitted, vague but impactful in the right context. Naru understood the context and realized that his sensei was right.

 _‘We need Konoha for now to help us tweak what needs to be changed. As long as we’re allies under them, we have one less enemy to worry about. All things considered, we have to be smart about staying in their good graces. If we are ever exposed, we’ll have to leave and do the rest ourselves. We can’t sit idly here and let our chance slip away, but there is also much danger in letting them find out too much about us at the same time,’_ he thought to himself. “Sensei, what about Kakashi-kun? He wasn’t too nice to you, right? Even though you’re family?”

“He’s got a lot to learn about life and his father, Naru. I’ll try my best to be a good role model for him, and teach him to love those around him, but it will be a hard task,” he declared, well aware that his student was trying to figure out the extent that their intervention plots would have to reach. _‘Could we fix it all just by teaching little me how to love? Will that stop Rin from being captured or Obito from being crushed by that boulder? Who’s the linchpin in the whole war? Would I still have lost Rin if Obito was there with me?’_

“Are you up for one more game of cards, sensei?” Naru asked, breaking through Kadeshi’s inner thoughts. The nurses had been kind enough to leave them with some books and puzzles to keep them entertained, but the prize among them was a deck of playing cards. Naru had already seized the pack and was shuffling the cards like he was a shark at an underground casino. Kadeshi sat up in his bed, inviting Naru over to the other side.

As soon as Naru was done, he dealt for a simple game that was finished quickly. They played a few more hands, both distracted by their own thoughts and trying to fill the space with something. Finally, Naru couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“What’s on your mind, sensei? You’ve let me beat you three times in a row, now,” he pointed out. Kadeshi just sighed, but suddenly a thought occurred to him and he held his hand out for the cards. Naru handed them over silently, curious as to what his sensei had in mind. Kadeshi spilled the cards onto the bed between them, face up, so he could rifle through without worry of dropping them onto the floor.

“Have I ever told you the story of the royal hearts? It’s an old story from my days as a child,” he started, catching Naru’s interest with a mention of his youth. Kadeshi rarely talked about when he was a child, and even less about his experiences as a young shinobi. All that he had shared had been carefully wrung out by Naru, and all of it had pertained to their current situation.

“Tell me, sensei!” he whispered enthusiastically, not wanting to catch the attention of the nurse on duty and get scolded for being awake so late. Kadeshi smiled softly, holding up three cards that he had found in the pile.

“These three royals, the Jack, Queen and King of hearts, all share a tragic story about how they became who they are. As kids, they were all equals in the royal court, but the little King was a true prodigy, recognized by the current King for his strength and instinct. The Queen-to-be shined in her own right, studious and smart, serving as the balance between the little King and the Jack, who dreamt of becoming a brave warrior, the strongest of anyone. The Jack often butted heads with the little King, but he was still weak when the little King was strong,” he explained, shuffling some more cards around.

“Despite the fighting and the lack of teamwork, they were still expected to be the greatest of their time, influential and strong. Eventually, their nations went to war and the little royals had no choice but to step up and become what they had trained their whole lives to be. The war didn’t stop the Jack from loving his Queen and his Queen from loving her King. However, the King’s arrogance and his sense of duty blinded him for a while, long enough for his gentle Queen to be taken and his loyal Jack to lose faith in him,” he revealed, separating the King out from the rest of the cards. Naru could see Kadeshi’s fingers lingering on the King of hearts card as he recalled the rest of the story.

“In a moment of weakness, the Jack found his strength and chased after the Queen that he loved and would gladly give his life for. The King was left wondering how he could have ever believed that the war was more important than the people he was supposed to protect.” Kadeshi had to force himself to pause. Revisiting such a hard moment in his life was not easy, but Naru was patient with him. Patient, and understanding.

“The King lost his Jack that day, his closest friend, even after he chased him to help rescue the Queen. The Jack gave his life to save the King and his beloved Queen, though he never once had the chance to tell the Queen how he felt. If he had, he would only have burdened her even more with his death while the war carried on, unforgiving and unwilling to give mercy because of a broken heart,” he carried on. Naru was left wondering if Kadeshi knew of Obito’s love before he died, or if it was something he realized as an adult. Reflection on the past often revealed many clues that were missed the first time. Those clues were not unknown to lead to even more heartbreak and regret.

“As the war carried on, the King struggled in a way he never had before, trying to contain his emotions after finally discovering he could have them. When his Queen was taken again, he was too late to save her, and she threw herself on his own blade to protect him from what the enemy had made her into. Aghast and broken, the King barely escaped with his own life, and fought many battles afterwards, even after the war came to an end and he ascended to the rank he was always meant to have,” Kadeshi trailed off, but his story had not reached its end just yet.

“The King dreamt of his noble Jack and his strong-willed Queen every night for years after. He longs to be with them, to give up his crown and join them, so he sticks his sword in his own head. He’s never succeeded in dying, however, so he serves those people he has come to love and waits until it is finally his turn to die,” he finished on a sad note. Naru frowned.

“Why such a sad story?” he asked quietly. Kadeshi shrugged.

“Not every story is a happy one, and not all happy stories start out that way, my young student,” he advised, leaning back against the headboard of his bed. Naru leaned an elbow on his leg and propped his chin up in his palm.

“Does that mean their story ends there? The royal hearts? Or is there more to it?” he pressed, pursuing the rare opportunity to learn about the past events that made his sensei into the man he himself knew. Kadeshi let a quaint smile slip onto his handsome face.

“Their story ends there, I’m afraid, but with the tragedy of their lives we learn a lesson that should never be forgotten,” he revealed, making Naru’s expression stir with interest. “Those who break the rules may be trash, but those who abandon their friends…” he trailed off.

“Are worse than trash,” Naru finished for him with a smile, well aware of his sensei’s efforts to impress such a lesson in him and his old teammates. “But sensei, what would happen if the Jack survived? Would that solve all of the King’s issues? Would he have that chance to tell the Queen how he really felt?” Naru pressed, seeking their true direction.

“It’s hard to say, Naru. The Jack gave the King his breakthrough, but whether or not he could teach the King how to feel again is uncertain. If they were both alive to save the Queen, then I think they might all be able to live and grow even stronger together. They all have strengths that could be utilized in their kingdom, but when there is only one person to influence those around him, there is no balance to anything,” he tried to explain in a way that made sense to both of them. Naru pursed his lips as he thought.

“What if the answer is something different, something new? Maybe the royal hearts needed an Ace to save them,” he suggested, fishing the Ace of Spades out of the pile. Kadeshi nodded his head slowly, following the train of thought.

“An Ace in the hole that could outright change the outcome of their tragedy. Then maybe it wouldn’t have to be a tragedy at all,” he mused out loud. Naru grinned.

“Exactly! The Ace would have to wait, influence gently at first, only enough to get the King to think about his faults, and the Queen and Jack theirs. Bring them closer as a whole and then step back. Wait for that critical moment when the Queen is kidnapped and the Jack dies protecting both the King and his Queen. Would that be enough to make their story happy again?” Naru asked. Kadeshi sighed, rooting deep within his thoughts.

“I fear that the royals would grow dependent on the Ace if they knew of his power and his desire to protect them. They would expect the Ace’s help and never learn for themselves. To change the story so drastically would almost be a disservice to their potential as royals,” Kadeshi pointed out. Naru smirked, holding the Ace of Spades between his index and middle fingers.

“But sensei, an Ace up your sleeve is only good while you haven’t used it and are unsure of its potential. The second you do, the mystery is gone and you lose it forever,” he argued, flicking his wrist and hiding the card from Kadeshi’s line of sight.

“So the royals would have to be truly desperate, beyond all hope even, and when the Ace appears to save them, the royals will seize their chance to survive and be left to their own paths from then on. I’m sure the Ace will stick around for a time, act as a silent beacon of comfort and strength, but he will have to move on eventually, won’t he?” Kadeshi said, toying with the proposed idea. Naru was in agreement with him.

“Will that be enough? Enough to change the fate of the royal hearts and their kingdom?” he asked one last time, staring at his sensei with more intensity than a bystander could ever hope to understand. Kadeshi matched his startling gaze with an equal amount of power emanating from his coal black eye.

“I think it’s the best chance they’re ever going to get,” he declared strongly. Another moment passed and the tension had bled out of the air. “Now then, let's get to bed, Naru. We’ve no doubt got a long day ahead of us,” Kadeshi said gently, helping to pick up the cards and leave them in a neat stack on one of their bedside tables. Naru smiled softly at the older man, content with the plan.

As they both drifted off to sleep that night, similar thoughts were swirling through their turbulent minds. Thoughts of hope, courage. They knew what their challenge would be, and if there was any doubt before, now it was absolved. To teach Kakashi, a young and hardened bit of soul, how to lower his walls and care about his teammates, and to teach his teammates how to fight their own weakness. If they could accomplish such a task, they could save Obito and Rin. If they saved those two Chunin, who seemed so insignificant, they could save the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I hope you enjoyed!


	12. Onwards and Upwards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Kakashi’s Apartment- the Next Morning

A soft knock and a familiar presence alerted the Chunin to a visitor at his door. Kakashi had just finished getting ready for the day, but he had yet to put on his forehead protector, leaving his silver hair a mess that partially hung down in his face.

He opened the door to reveal his sensei with an easy grin on his face. The boy swore that the man’s smile reflected blinding light from the sun right into his eyes every time he opened his damn mouth. Regardless of his internal griping, Kakashi was polite to his teacher and invited him inside before inquiring about his presence. Minato held up a simple white storage scroll.

“The Sandaime asked me to make a delivery to Kadeshi-san and Naru-kun this morning. I was wondering if you’d like to come with. I hope I’m not intruding,” he said with a bashful smile. Kakashi’s eyes twitched in irritation.

He had contemplated spying on the older Hatake to figure out his true intentions, but Kakashi had dismissed it from his mind in favor of getting some early training done. Even thinking about the man who looked too much like his father made his blood boil. Seeing the hesitation on his student’s face, Minato took a chance and decided to sweeten the deal.

“How about this, Kakashi-kun,” he started, making sure he had the Chunin’s attention. “Make an effort to get to know them, without putting them back in the hospital, and I will teach you the new jutsu I’ve been working on once it’s done,” he offered. Kakashi perked up slightly at the mention of Minato’s new jutsu. He had seen the man working on it before, but it was still incomplete. Minato was very close to finishing it, but there was one single element that eluded him and even his own sensei, Jiraiya.

As it stood, the Rasengan was already powerful if created and used correctly by the wielder. The chance to learn a jutsu that only the Yellow Flash and the legendary Toad Sannin could use was too good to pass up. Kakashi sighed heavily, feeling a strange urge to bang his head on something.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” he agreed. Minato’s grin was reminiscent of a cat that had gotten away with all the cream. Kakashi wondered what exactly he had gotten himself into.

The walk over to the hospital was relatively uneventful, but as they were nearing the right room, the sound of shouting was heard even from down the hallway. Minato frowned and increased his pace to get to the bottom of the issue, curious as to why the nurses were waiting outside and hadn’t already stopped the racket. Kakashi followed along out of principle.

“Excuse me, Kumiko-san?” Minato asked politely, catching the attention of the head nurse. She looked momentarily surprised to be caught idling about but quickly regained her composure.

“What can I help you with, Minato-san? I didn’t know they were going to have visitors today,” she said abashedly, bowing her head. “I would’ve made sure to let them know in advance.” Minato waved off the apology.

“No worries, Kumiko-san, I was just curious as to what the commotion is,” he admitted. At that, Kumiko laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

“Well, you see Minato-san, the other nurses and I felt that our physical therapy lessons with Hatake-san haven’t been as productive as they should be, so we got permission from Lady Tsunade to let Naru-kun give it a try. He brought it up at first, pointing out that he could tell his Sensei wasn’t giving his all during the sessions. This is the result of that decision,” she explained. “They’ve been at it since Hatake-san woke up half an hour ago.”

“Get back here you mangy little fox!” Kadeshi yelled from inside, sending a wave of mutterings rushing through the crowd of nurses. Naru’s response was heard inside as well.

“Catch me if you can, _old man_!” he shouted loudly, challenging his irate sensei. Minato and Kakashi figured enough was enough and walked in on them dodging around in the cramped room. At first glance, nothing seemed to be the matter. It soon became clear what the dispute was about.

Kadeshi had doodle markings drawn all over his face. The culprit was currently running around the hospital room with a permanent marker in his hand, laughing uncontrollably. The silver haired man was fuming as he watched the blond jump from wall to wall and even up onto the ceiling to evade his grabs.

“When we get a real place I’m going to make you sleep outside for a month, you brat!” he shouted before noticing that they had company. Minato waved with an awkward smile while Kakashi just glared. In the moment that Kadeshi’s focus was turned away from his student, Naru pounced on him, sending him right to the floor. To his credit, Kadeshi felt the blond coming and whipped around to face him, but he was unable to dodge or redirect Naru in such a tight space. Not having his left arm made hand to hand combat much more challenging.

“How can I be related to this man? No wonder I’ve never heard of this disgrace before,” Kakashi grumbled bitterly to himself. Minato sent the boy a disapproving glance, which was effortlessly ignored. Unbeknownst to the two, Kadeshi also heard his younger self’s little quip. He sighed internally, finding enough purchase to kick Naru off of him; there was a lot of work to be done to adjust his mini-me’s uptight attitude.

As Minato and Kadeshi continued to watch the cat and mouse chase, one with slight amusement and the other with apathy, bordering on disgust, Minato began to realize something. Every time Kadeshi missed the slippery blond eel that he called a student because his weight wasn’t balanced, his next attempt would be tweaked just enough to seal off the opening that the young shinobi had previously escaped through. He watched Naru dart around a sharp corner, turning on a dime. When Kadeshi attempted to follow, he overbalanced himself and toppled into the wall. He was on his feet a few seconds later to resume the chase. Seeing his student with a mirthful smirk on his face served to reignite his desire to wring the kid’s neck. The scarecrow didn’t slip when he took the next corner.

Minato couldn’t help the smirk that stretched across his own face. He was impressed with the amount of cunning displayed on Naru’s behalf. As he was about to let Kakashi in on his observations, Kadeshi pinned Naru to the floor with a growl of triumph. He snatched the marker from his student and proceeded to draw all over Naru’s face, much to the horror of the teen. It was then that Naru noticed they had guests. He grinned brightly at them, despite the fact that Kadeshi was trying to shove the marker up his nose.

“Hey Minato-san! Isn’t it a great morning?” Naru said happily, casually throwing his sensei off of him by wrapping his legs around Kadeshi’s waist and heaving him to the side. If the scarecrow had both arms, he would have been able to brace and stabilize himself to prevent losing his hold on Naru. Unfortunately, he hadn’t worked out how to avoid that problem. Kadeshi hit the ground hard on his injured side and let out a stiff groan.

“Hey hey… I’m still trying to recover, Naru,” he whined, feeling pain shoot across his chest from his left shoulder. Noises from the hallway hinted that the nurses were disbursing, but not before some quick hands exchanged money from those who lost their bets on who would come out victorious. Naru laughed heartily and held a hand out to help the man up when he could finally breathe again. Though they had been chasing each other around the room only moments earlier, now they were back on pleasant terms.

“How are your injuries treating you, Hatake-san?” Minato asked them as they sat down to a light breakfast of pastries and coffee provided by the nurses as they checked Kadeshi to make sure he hadn’t opened any of his sutures again. There were even a few peeled oranges delivered afterwards, ripe for claiming. The nurses certainly hadn’t realized that doodling on the man’s face and goading him into a game of cat and mouse could be considered physical training, but the end result was positive growth.

“You don’t have to use any of those boring formalities with me, Namikaze-san. As for your question, I am not as immobile as I feared I would be. It crossed my mind that I could have ended up a lot worse if I wasn’t here in Konoha,” he said easily. Naru grinned brightly when he realized it was his turn. Minato smiled at the boy, but a shadow of weariness remained coiled tightly inside of him. Nearly all of the blond’s endearing qualities made him seem harmless and honest, but it was dangerous to fall into such a trap when dealing with shinobi of unknown skill and purpose. Minato reminded himself that he still had a village to protect.

Kadeshi recognized the brief flash of suspicion in Minato’s blue eyes. He could hazard a damn good guess as to what the man was thinking, too. Filing away the information for later, he tuned in to hear Naru’s entertaining story.

“We met this really cool toad sage who asked us a bunch of questions and talked with me about my sage mode. It was definitely refreshing since most people haven’t the slightest clue about senjutsu. Afterwards, we played some card games which were less boring than I thought they would be. The nurses came for his recovery training this morning but sensei didn’t want to cooperate so I felt it was my duty to persuade him,” he finished with a grin, completely ignorant of the daggers being sent his way. Kakashi had been relatively silent throughout the entire ordeal, trying not to look at the older Hatake.

“Despite our awkward introduction the other day, it pleases me to see you here, Kakashi-kun,” Kadeshi offered, but the young teen allowed a look of severe displeasure to color his features. Kakashi instead chose to ignore the other man, swirling the coffee in a cup that he had yet to take a sip from. Glancing around the room, Minato was half finished and the other two had polished their plates clean. Meanwhile, Kadeshi was lamenting to himself.

“My cute little nephew hates me, and my adorable little student won’t let me sleep in peace anymore. What has the world come to?” he despaired. An impish grin turned up the corners of his lips and suddenly, he was no longer depressed. “My duty to you as your Uncle requires that I spend as much time with you as I can, Kakashi-kun. Your sensei has even agreed to show Naru and I around the village and help us with our training for the next week,” he threw in, the quirking of his lips blooming into a full grown smile. Kakashi looked horrified.

“Is he telling the truth, sensei?” he asked, the edge in his voice not subtle to anyone. Minato nodded his head in good spirits, regardless. He held onto some form of hope that thought Kadeshi might just be able to melt some of the ice that surrounded Kakashi’s heart.

“Kadeshi-san and Naru-kun are going to be tested against some of the village’s Jonin soon after they get released in order to determine what rank they should receive and whether or not they are fit to participate in the war on behalf of Konoha,” he explained. “The Sandaime asked me if I could be of service to them, and I responded truthfully. He also decided that you and your teammates will also help out our new friends here.” The way Minato delivered his final decree left Kakashi with no room to argue.

“Do you wear that mask all the time?” Naru asked randomly, breaking the silence that was starting to grow between the four of them. The Chunin sighed heavily.

“Yes, I wear it all the time. No, I won’t take it off so you can see what my face looks like. No, not even Minato-sensei knows what my face looks like,” he finished with mild signs of irritation. Standing abruptly, he made his way into the kitchen down the hall to dispose of his cup, leaving Minato alone with Naru and Kadeshi. The blond Jonin chuckled awkwardly.

“I’m sorry about him, he doesn’t seem to remember any of his manners,” he joked, trying to lighten the air. Kadeshi waved it off, watching the back of his younger self’s head as he disappeared into the kitchen.

“He’s alright, Namikaze-san. My presence must have been a surprise, and I doubt it was a welcome one. He acts much like I did when I was his age, too. Moodiness runs in the family, it seems,” he said, chuckling at the thought. Minato gave a genuine smile at that.

“If I’m not supposed to be so formal, then I’d ask you to do the same, Kadeshi-san,” Minato pointed out. Kadeshi nodded his head in understanding.

“Hey, Minato-san! Did you bring us our stuff?” Naru asked eagerly. “I’m sick of wearing these boring hospital clothes,” he grumbled. Minato nodded and pulled a scroll out of his pocket, handing it over to the teen. Naru jumped out of his chair and laid on the floor, opening the scroll and unsealing its contents a little at a time.

“Everything we found you with is in there, though I fear some of the clothing is unusable. I also picked up some more casual clothing. Hokage-sama made sure you received some money as well to buy groceries, clothing, weapons, et cetera. If you are in need of anything that hasn't been provided, please let me know,” he said. Kadeshi bowed his head in gratitude.

“Where shall we meet you for a tour of the village then, Minato-san?” Kadeshi asked, leaning back in his chair with a yawn. “If I sit here any longer I’ll fall asleep again.” Minato tilted his head in confusion.

“I had assumed I would show you around when you are officially released from the hospital,” he admitted, remembering the tantrum Tsunade had thrown the last time Kadeshi suggested leaving before his sentence was fulfilled. Kadeshi shrugged.

“Makes no difference to me, the Sandaime had mentioned that you have a Chunin team so you are busy, no doubt. Just let us know when you have time to waste on the two of us,” he offered with a wink. Minato made a mental note to sneak Kadeshi and Naru out of the hospital if he had too. He understood the pain of being confined to a small room for days on end.

“Sensei~” Naru whined from behind the nearest bed. “I need a new jacket,” he said, holding up the tattered remains of his favorite orange jacket. It seemed that the front had been blown apart. Minato assumed it was from when the shinobi who attacked them gave him a seal. Kadeshi knew it was the aftermath of Naru’s massive use of Kurama’s chakra.

“Please tell me you won’t get another orange one?” he said with a heavy sigh. Naru glared at him, offended.

“Of course it’ll be orange!” he replied strongly. Minato chuckled awkwardly, sharing the scarecrow’s sentiments.

“Let’s see what the shop has, Naru-kun. There has to be something,” Kadeshi tried, seemingly desperate to escape the orange-loving teen that refused to leave him alone. Naru’s eyes narrowed in suspicion on his sensei.

“If I don’t come home with anything orange, I’m going to steal each and every one of your pornos and burn them to nothing,” he threatened, eyes glowing with righteous fury. Kadeshi’s accompanying wince and sudden placation of the young shinobi was enough to make Minato’s mind buzz with the familiarity of Naru’s specific anger to his own girlfriend’s indomitable temper. He ended that train of thought fairly soon after it began, not yet trusting enough of Naru to tell him that he wasn’t the only Uzumaki in Konoha.

“Go wash the marker off your face Naru, you’re making me look bad,” Kadeshi said jokingly, shooing the young man off to go and clean up in the bathroom connected to the room while he sifted through the remnants of their junk. Minato didn’t want to be too nosy, but he couldn’t help himself as he took stock of their belongings.

The majority of the clothes they had on them at the time of their recovery were unusable. Kadeshi was thankful that his flak jacket had gotten ripped off by one of his enemies before throwing down one last time in the tower back in Ame. He was surprised to find his mask intact and clean, but he had yet to decide if he wanted to wear it or not.

At the end of his search, it was conclusive that the only clothing items to survive their journey were their shoes. He was all too grateful to Minato for bringing them new clothes. As for their weapons, Kadeshi found twelve kunai, a roll of paper bombs, and twenty shuriken. Unfortunately he was also missing the new tanto blade he had grown attached to while up in Rock Country.

“It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing,” he concluded. Grabbing his mask, Kadeshi rose from the floor and made to clean up the remnants of their breakfast. Minato interrupted him, asuring the man he would take care of cleaning up and speak with the nurses about an early release time before bidding them a quick farewell. Kakashi had yet to return either, which was likely for the best.

Over in their adjoining bathroom, Kadeshi found Naru sitting on top of the toilet with a forehead protector in his hands. He had a slight frown on his freshly scrubbed face, but it brightened into a grin when he realized someone was in the room with him. The smile fell when he realized it was his oldest friend. Kadeshi smirked.

“That disappointing, huh?” he huffed, slipping awkwardly out of his shirt and looking at himself in the mirror for the first time in a few weeks. He looked exhausted, and his ribs were starting to be a little too defined for his liking. Despite the weakened state of his body, fresh waves of energy were coursing through him for the first time in a long while. Looking at his left arm, Kadeshi gingerly touched the end of his stump, feeling the tender pink flesh there. The scars were bright red and looked angry, but Tsunade was not a doctor just for show.

It had been little more than a week since he had his arm cut off, among other stab wounds and gashes, but there were no longer any open sutures anywhere on what remained of his arm. The rest of his wounds still had stitches in them, but they would be removed soon anyways so long as he didn’t abuse them too much. Tsunade has focused on healing his arm before anything else to ensure that it wouldn’t cause any more problems. All of the efforts by the nurses to get him to do physical therapy was to ensure that his new flesh could be loosened properly and not cause him any pain.

“It’s comforting to know that you can still take a hit without falling apart. I guess I won’t have to worry as much,” Naru said absently. Kadeshi cast a sideways glance at his downtrodden student before starting to clean the marker off of his own face.

“Wear it, Naru. You know how you would feel without it. Besides, you won’t get a Konoha forehead protector until the end of the week and nothing else seems to be able to keep that yellow rat nest out of your eyes.” Naru smiled at his friend, thankful for the reassurance, but he would wait.

“I’ll let you clean up in peace, Kadeshi-sensei,” he said, standing and walking towards the door. Kadeshi caught his arm as he passed and pulled him into a comforting embrace. Naru missed feeling both of Kadeshi’s arms, not that they found themselves hugging each other often in the first place. The gesture was all the more special because of its rarity.

“The next few days are going to be hard with all those people out there in the village. Be strong, Naru, we cannot waver,” he whispered, feeling his student’s hands circling his waist, not at all concerned about the fact that Kadeshi was shirtless.

“You act really out of character when you’re not wearing your mask, Kadeshi-sensei,” he responded softly. Kadeshi hummed in amusement.

“I wore it to hide pain and suppress my emotions. Eventually, I forgot how to take it off,” he admitted out loud for the first time in his life. “I will keep it with me, and use it when I have to. I have no doubt of its effectiveness, but I can’t exactly be a good role model if I’m teaching something that is already known,” he decided. Naru relaxed into the older shinobi, settling his head on Kadeshi’s shoulder.

“I like that. I really do.”

Minato returned to the hospital room with Kakashi right about the same time Naru popped out of the bathroom in a pair of blue pants with a white shirt that had red spirals on the sleeves. He had a bright red bandana tied around his head to keep the hair out of his eyes.

“Thanks for all your help, Minato-san!” he cheered happily, dashing over by the weapons that Kadeshi had left spread out on the table. He quickly took half of their supplies and pushed it to the side of the table, separating his pile from his sensei’s. “Where are we going first? The nurses are letting us out right? You convinced them to let us out of here, didn’t you?” the teen asked, barely able to contain himself for too long in one spot. Minato could tell they were going to have an exciting day.

“Easy now, Naru-kun. Yes, the nurses have agreed to let you have some fresh air, but you still have to spend the night here. They’ll evaluate the both of you one last time in the morning and Tsunade will give you the all-clear to be released,” he explained, ignoring the pout on the blond’s face. He acted a lot like his own students, a fact that Minato found to be endearing. “Let’s get you some new clothes first, then we can go to a weapons shop. We’ll save grocery shopping for when you have a more permanent place to live. Until then, there’s a great ramen place in town that just opened, maybe we could stop in for some lunch,” he suggested. Naru’s eyes lit up the moment Minato said ‘ramen’.

“You’ve said the magic word, Minato-san,” Kadeshi’s voice called out, appearing in the doorway to the bathroom with his hand on his hip and a smirk on his lips. He had chosen to wear black pants with a dark green tank top and a black jacket with the right sleeve rolled up to his elbow. The other sleeve hung limply at his side. “You’ve planted ramen dreams in his head and he won’t let you forget it until he’s eaten his fill,” Kadeshi explained. Minato waved off the warning with a chuckle.

“He’s fine, I know another person who acts the same about ramen. It’s her favorite dish and she can’t get enough of Ichiraku’s. I swear she’s there every day,” he said, surprised at the ease with which he shared information about his girlfriend. As hard as he tried, he naturally lowered his guard around the two newcomers, much to the Jonin’s concern. Kadeshi knew who he was talking about, but silently wondered how much Naru knew about his mother. The challenging gleam in his student’s eyes told him he wasn’t aware of the ramen-holic’s identity.

“There’s nobody in this world who loves ramen as much as I do! Whoever this fake thinks they are, I need to prove that the number one fan of ramen is me! Uzumaki Naru! I won’t lose when it comes to ramen!” he cried triumphantly, pumping his fist in the air. Kadeshi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Kakashi was once again wearing the same bitter expression he had showed up with.

“Naru, as much as I’d love to watch such a disgusting display of loyalty to good noodles, we don’t have the money to pay for your little showdown,” Kadeshi pointed out. Naru’s fiery spirit sputtered and died out, leaving him groaning about having to wait to be instated as a shinobi.

“Like you could ever be a shinobi of Konoha,” Kakashi grumbled, clearly exasperated with the blond’s erratic behaviour. Naru heard the jab, but chose to ignore it rather than egg on the young Hatake. Minato saw his chance to steer the conversation outdoors and into the village.

“How about this, Naru-kun, if you get instated as a shinobi at the end of the week with your sensei, I’ll treat both of you to as much ramen as you can eat,” he promised. “I won’t take you, or even tell you where it is until you become a shinobi,” he declared with finality. Naru was suddenly fired up again, a wicked glimmer in his eyes. He turned on his sensei.

“I’m going to make sure you’re in tip top shape, Kadeshi-sensei! There’s no way you’re losing all-I-can-eat ramen for me,” he swore. Minato paled when he heard that.

“Did I just make a mistake?” he asked. Kadeshi nodded.

“I’m afraid so,” he said with a grimace. “Just don’t draw on me anymore you punk, there are other ways to get me out of bed.” The last comment was aimed at Naru, but it flew right into Kakashi’s head.

“Are you implying that your fooling around was actually supposed to accomplish something?” he drawled. Naru grinned at him, unable to help himself.

“You mean you didn’t notice?” he quipped with a smile, forcing a flash of irritation across the young Hatake’s face. Kadeshi pushed Naru towards the door, trying to put some distance between the two teenagers. He recognized the signs that his student wanted to let out some energy. Unfortunately, if he wanted to have fun with Kakashi, there would definitely be property damage involved. Tsunade had enough reasons to wring their necks already, he didn’t feel like giving her any more.

“Enough of that, let’s go outside already,” Kadeshi decided, receiving a thankful glance from Minato. The day was going to be exciting, indeed.


	13. Village Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### The Streets of Konoha

As soon as their feet met the dirt roads outside of the hospital, Naru and Kadeshi were whisked off into the streams of people. Minato and Kakashi moved efficiently through the crowd to stick close behind their charges. The two time travelers felt like foreigners in their own village, eyes drinking in absolutely everything around them. The humble shops with the even more humble shopkeepers were a sight for sore eyes. Children laughed and played in one of the nearby stalls, clutching the newest toys in their young hands.

If Kadeshi and Naru hadn’t known any better, they never would have suspected Konoha was at war. The birds sang in the trees and Naru sent them his love through sage energy. Kadeshi was overjoyed to pat a stray dog that ambled up to him amidst the bustle of the streets. He often missed his own ninken, especially so in that moment. Naru was quick to draw his attention with an elbow gently nudging into his ribs.

“Look at that, sensei!” he said, excitement leaking out of every pore of his body. Following his gaze, Kadeshi felt his knees weaken ever so slightly at the sight of the Hokage Monument looming before them. Never had the faces of the first three Hokage seemed so magnificent to their tired eyes. The features on the Sandaime were still sharp, not yet worn away by time. The Shodaime and Nidaime were less angular, but still clearer than in their own version of Konoha.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them, Naru. A long time, indeed,” he said softly, treasuring the moment with his comrade.

From their perspective, just behind the newcomers, Minato and Kakashi had the opportunity to observe both Naru and Kadeshi interacting with their home for the first time. As wanderers it was no surprise that the sheer amount of people who inhabited Konoha could dazzle them when they were probably used to seeing far less and interacting with even fewer than that on a regular basis.

“Hey, Minato-san!” Naru called happily, bringing a smile to Minato’s face before he could stop it. The young blond was too genuine for Minato to constantly be keeping his barriers up. He figured the boy and his sensei both earned a chance from him. To keep sulking about at a distance wasn’t very welcoming anyways.

“What is it, Naru-kun?” he asked in return. Naru smiled eagerly at him.

“Where’s a guy supposed to get any decent shinobi gear around here?” he replied cheekily. Minato laughed in response, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder.

“If you want shinobi gear we should’ve turned right back there, not left. Don’t worry, we’ll get there eventually,” he called. Kadeshi and Naru exchanged sheepish glances before shaking it off with another round of laughter. They were happy as is, just being outside. Feeling the sun on their skin was a sensation that they had almost forgotten, and both time travelers vowed to live in it while they were able.

As the day carried on, Kakashi felt his anger subsiding whenever he looked at his Uncle. Kadeshi was proving every waking moment that he was nothing like his father, which made Kakashi’s turbulent emotions fade little by little. He would not be a man who resorted to hating another for simply existing. There were too many bastards in the world who operated under such principles, and Kakashi refused to be one of them. Despite that line of thinking, Kakashi wasn’t willing to open up his private life to someone else just because they shared the same name.

Kakashi blinked a few times and shot Minato a strange glance when he noticed Naru pulling Kadeshi to a nearby flower shop, spouting some gibberish about buying a gift. He followed along dutifully, wondering what they could possibly want with a bunch of flowers, as well as who they were planning on giving them to.

Once inside, Kadeshi and his nephew were surprised to find each other hanging around by the front of the shop, unsure of what to do with all of the delicate flowers. They went their separate ways but both naturally gravitated towards the chrysanthemums regardless of their attempts to put some distance between them. Kakashi realized his Uncle wasn’t just following him around, but was genuinely showing some similar interests. Right when Kadeshi thought Kakashi was going to leave him in another moody huff, he spoke.

“When did you get that tattoo?” Kakashi asked him, unwilling to look up at the taller man as he gently stroked the petals on a pale chrysanthemum. Kadeshi was amused that Kakashi’s first civil question towards him was a test of knowledge about their Clan’s traditions.

“I was twenty-five. I have always had a special love for chrysanthemums,” he said softly, not really offering much of an explanation, not that one was needed. “I’ll leave you be.” Kakashi nodded slowly as Kadeshi walked away, lost in his own thoughts again. It was the first time Kadeshi had seen him without his guards up, not that Kakashi realized he was being watched. The elder wondered how often his younger self showed that same vulnerability to his teammates or to his sensei. Much of his existence had been a lonely one, and he was the only one to blame for it.

Kadeshi wandered until he found Minato standing by the roses with a painful look on his face. The expression made the older Hatake smile at the man he looked up to. Before Kadeshi could ask what was on his mind, the owner of the shop beat him to it.

“Minato! What are you doing here? You didn’t make Kushina-san upset did you?” a strong voice called from behind the counter in the back of the shop. Minato looked up from the roses to see another blond man walking towards him. His hair was long and tied up in a ponytail to stay out of his face. He also wore a soft purple apron that was stained with various colors from preparing and arranging various species of flora. He wiped his hands on a rag hanging over his shoulder before clasping hands with Minato.

“Inoichi! It’s good to see you too. Let me introduce you to Hatake Kadeshi; his student Naru is around here somewhere as well,” Minato said, introducing the young Yamanaka to Kadeshi. “Inoichi-san is a shinobi here in Konoha. He works under the Hokage in one of the many departments he has to oversee. This flower shop has been owned and operated by his family for generations.”

Kadeshi silently wondered if the other head of Torture and Interrogation liked plants as much as Inoichi. The thought of a young Inoichi running a flower shop with his business partner, young Ibiki, made Kadeshi smile. Ibiki would probably have an absurd latent talent for growing cacti or succulents that needed only a little bit of love to flourish rather than all of the time Inoichi spent doting on his flowers.

“It’s a pleasure, Inoichi-san. Your shop is a very tranquil place, no wonder my student wanted to stop by,” he said with a polite bow. Inoichi returned the gesture before returning his attention to Minato.

“I hope you’re not planning on giving Kushina-san roses, Minato?” the Interrogator asked with an arched brow. Minato was suddenly nervous, rubbing the back of his head.

“Why… uh, what makes you think that, Inoichi?” he stammered, obviously moments away from doing just that. Inoichi sighed, shaking his head before slinging an arm around Minato’s neck and pulling him to the other side of the shop, ignoring his protests along the way.

“She’s allergic to the pollen in roses, Minato! Don’t you ever listen to her complain about them when she’s in here? Let’s go get her something she’ll really appreciate,” he offered, still dragging Minato. Kadeshi was soon out of earshot, but he was content with the atmosphere that remained in the quaint little flower shop.

“Hey sensei!” Naru whispered in his ear, popping up out of the seams in the floorboards if Kadeshi didn’t know any better. He successfully maintained his cool exterior, however, having grown used to the blond appearing in the least convenient of places. “Look what I found,” Naru said, showing him a small potted plant with pretty green leaves. The leaves were broad and its stalk, sturdy. Kadeshi smiled at it, and his student.

“A very nice choice, my student. Does it have a name yet?” he asked, seeing the wheels turning in Naru’s head.

“I think there’s only one name I can give it, sensei. I’m just surprised I found the same kind of plant, to be honest,” he admitted, smiling down at the plant fondly, though it was the first time they had ever crossed paths. Kadeshi nodded along, pleased with Naru’s idea.

“Excuse me, young man, but are you aware that plant won’t be able to flower?” Inoichi asked, coming back with Minato in tow. The Jonin sensei had an anxious look on his face as he clutched a bouquet of tulips tightly to his chest. “A friend gave it to me after he didn’t want it anymore but nobody’s taken any interest since it doesn’t flower or seem to want to grow no matter what I try,” he said honestly, not wanting to let Naru walk away with something that wouldn’t do what he wanted. The boy’s bright eyes told him that he had found exactly what he was looking for.

“That’s alright, but thank you anyway, mister. I’m Uzumaki Naru,” he said, introducing himself. Kadeshi quirked an eyebrow when Inoichi’s face lit up with surprise upon hearing the young blond’s name. Minato was quick to jab the other man, but not so subtle as to miss Kadeshi’s eye.

“I-It’s very nice to meet you, Naru-san. Let me help you with that plant so I’m not holding you up any,” he offered, recovering quickly and ushering Naru with him to the back counter. Kadeshi took the opportunity to sink his teeth into Minato.

“Is it all that surprising that the kid’s an Uzumaki? I didn’t think they were that rare of a breed in Fire Country, but something tells me there aren’t very many here in Konoha,” Kadeshi pointed out. Minato gave him a half shrug.

“They are hard to come across, indeed. His personality is definitely befitting of an Uzumaki. I have never met another clan that even comes close to the amount of passion they have for the things they love,” he revealed, dodging the question. Kadeshi could only agree.

Naru came back without Inoichi, who was occupied with another customer for the time being. Gathering themselves to leave, the party of three caught Kakashi on their way out of the shop. He gave the tulips and the potted plant a sideways glance before moving on without saying a word.

The sun was dipping towards the horizon by the time they left the last shop with a few more bags filled with casual and combat clothing for both Kadeshi and Naru. They had hardly made it back into the street when they were spotted by the remainder of Minato and Kakashi’s team.

“Minato-sensei!” a young girl with brown hair and purple face markings shouted as she ran to them from a shop a few stores down. A raven haired boy with orange goggles kept up pace alongside her. Kadeshi’s heart skipped a beat when he saw them together. Obito would have been devastated to hear that he had failed to protect Rin, but luckily, these were not the same shinobi that Kadeshi had grown up with. They were still full of youth and bright energy. War had not tainted them completely yet. Kadeshi still had a chance to save both of them, and with Naru by his side, they could not fail.

Naru watched them approach, shifting his grip on the pot in his hands. Based on his sensei’s stories, they were Rin and Obito, the two teammates who had set him down a long path of misery and self-loathing that had yet to end in the merciless death that Kadeshi desired. Naru swore to himself that he would make sure little Kakashi would not have to live the same life. He watched his father’s face light up with fondness when his last two students reached them. He could see the love that Minato had reserved for them and them alone. The Jonin chuckled when Obito started a fight with Kakashi over something small and insignificant. Rin stood by with a pleasant smile on her face, laughing quietly at her two squabbling teammates.

Sadness bled into Naru’s heart. For a moment, he wanted his father’s loving eyes to turn towards him. He wanted an affectionate embrace from the man he was forced to grow up with no knowledge of. Naru knew he was being selfish, but he couldn’t help himself from wanting more than the hand he had been dealt.

The sheer weight of their task bore down on him in his moment of want, of weakness. The thought of failure invaded his mind. There were so many mistakes that he and Kadeshi could make that would ruin the future beyond saving. Naru wasn’t sure he could stand to fight his father, or his mother, wherever she was, or any of the people he had grown to love in his lifetime.

A strong hand ruffled his hair before settling around his shoulders, breaking him out of his black thoughts. Naru looked up to see Kadeshi standing beside him, sending him a knowing glance that conveyed his own understanding of the young blond’s emotions. In that moment, Naru felt his faith growing stronger. Their journey up until that point had been hesitant and uncertain at best, but now they had some clarity. They would fight together and protect Konoha until death tore them from the mortal plane. They would not fail, Naru was sure of it.

“Why didn’t you tell us when they got released from the hospital, sensei?” Obito asked obnoxiously, drawing the attention of the two time travelers. Minato rubbed the back of his head.

“Well I wasn’t expecting them to be let out today. Officially they’re still supposed to be in the hospital, but the nurses felt their legs needed a good stretch out in the village. Hopefully Tsunade-sama feels the same,” he joked with a sheepish chuckle. Rin’s eyes widened slightly but narrowed rapidly moments later.

“You two better not be skipping out when Tsunade-sama gets there,” she warned, whirling on the two strangers. Kadeshi looked abashed while Naru was nothing if not confused, cocking his head just enough to be inquisitive. The older Hatake hid his amazement on the inside. Who would have guessed the most obnoxious and blunt student he had ever taught would commit to a role so much that even he couldn’t tell if Naru was being genuine or not. The thought scared him a little. He was used to reading his blond student like a book. For a minute, Kadeshi wondered if the young blond was hiding some inner turmoil and he wasn’t perceptive enough to notice it.

“It’s not like the scary booby lady needs to do anything else to us, we’re practically in the last recovery stages already,” Naru said, bleeding honesty. Minato and Rin were about to keel over when they heard the young devil’s nickname for the Slug Sannin. They hoped, for his sake, that she never heard it. Kakashi spied the bandages still wrapped around Naru’s wrists.

“If that’s the truth, how come you still need those bandages?” he pointed out sourly. Naru blushed lightly, embarrassed as he self-consciously wrapped his arms a little tighter around the plant he was carrying.

“Senjutsu requires a lot of concentration when I use it to influence other people. When I want to help someone else, I must give something in return to work inside of their bodies. More often than not, it’s my stamina and the ability to heal my own injuries. All of that energy goes to replenishing my chakra rather than generating new cells,” he explained. Rin stepped into her role as a medic.

“Let me see, I may be able to help you,” she offered, reaching out to grab his hands. Naru reluctantly allowed himself to be examined by the young brunette after passing his plant to his sensei. She gently unrolled the bandages and frowned when she uncovered the scabbed over rope burns that covered his wrists.

“What happened, do you mind if I ask?” she asked politely, her hands lighting up bright green with healing chakra. Naru shook his head.

“It’s alright. I was kidnapped and held hostage until Kadeshi-sensei came and saved me. He suffered far worse than I did,” he said, diverting Rin and Obito’s attention over to the one-armed man. “I think you found us fairly soon after we managed to finish with the fight.” The young Uchiha cocked his head when he looked at the older man.

“Why do I get the feeling you look a lot like Bakashi?” he asked. Kadeshi grinned at the boy, pointing to himself from around the side of the potted plant. He carried a stupid expression on his face that made Kakashi shudder.

“Kakashi-kun didn’t tell you about me? I’m his super cool Uncle! Hatake Kadeshi, at your service,” he said, introducing himself with a flourish. The movement showcased the fact that he only had one arm. Obito was blunt enough to ask about it.

“Woah, what happened to your arm?” Before Minato or Rin could chastise his rudeness, Kadeshi waved them off with a smile.

“I was being obstinate and selfish one day and made a mistake that I paid dearly for. The price for another chance was my arm, and I gladly gave it,” he said cryptically. Though Minato did not know the entire story, he was aware of far more than his own students. The wizened gaze of the scarecrow let Minato in on more than he knew what to do with.

“You must be really strong then, if you still managed to rescue Naru-kun with only one arm,” Rin said, her eyes holding a glimmer of admiration for the lanky Hatake. She finished healing the worst of the burns on Naru’s wrists and proceeded to rewrap them in record time. “There! All done,” she beamed.

“Thank you…” Naru tried, but he pretended not to know her name, seeing as they were never properly introduced. Rin flushed with embarrassment when she realized the problem. She gave a quick bow to them.

“My name is Nohara Rin! I’m training to be a field-certified medical nin, but I’m nowhere near as good as Tsunade-sama at this point,” she admitted, but a note of cheerfulness never left her voice, even when admitting her lack of knowledge. Obito stepped up next, sending them a devilish smirk with a hand on his chin.

“The name’s Uchiha Obito, and I’m going to be one of the greatest shinobi in the village someday!” he said enthusiastically. Naru grinned, but the moment was interrupted by Kakashi’s snort of disbelief.

“You want to be great but you haven’t even awoken your Sharingan, loser. I’ve never heard of a great Uchiha who can’t even use their Sharingan,” he said scathingly. Obito flushed brightly, bristling at his teammate’s comment, but Naru came to his rescue. He knew what it felt like to be in Obito’s shoes; to have a condescending teammate who was better in almost every aspect of being a shinobi.

“My name is Uzumaki Naru, and even though people laugh at me for having no parents, and no clan anymore, I still work hard every day to prove to them that I am a strong shinobi. I hope that you achieve your dream, Uchiha-san, cause I’m right there with you,” he said passionately, holding a hand out for Obito to take. The raven haired Chunin clasped his hand strongly and their grins were identical. Kadeshi whistled, clearly impressed.

“Looks like there’s no separating you two after that little display. Minato-san, what do you say, should we cut the rest of our errands and go find someplace to eat before we have to go back?” he proposed, knowing full well what his student’s answer would be. The other sensei shook his head with a laugh.

“I don’t see why not, I’m starting to feel famished myself, Kadeshi-san,” he agreed. “I’ll leave Kakashi-kun with you to show you a popular barbeque joint around the corner. I’ll get Obito-kun and Rin-chan to help me take your stuff back to the hospital while you get us a table.” The two Chunin were happy to oblige, grabbing at the bags that were strewn about them on the side of the street.

As they parted ways, Naru grabbed Kakashi’s attention before he could walk too far away from them. “Kakashi-san! Before we go, there’s something I wanted to give you,” he called, making the young Hatake turn back with barely a hint of curiosity written out on his features. There was also a fair amount of weariness, which wasn’t unfounded, but rather unnecessary for what Naru had in mind.

He retrieved the potted plant that he had been carrying around all day from his sensei and held it out towards the stoic Chunin. Kakashi hadn’t noticed before, but there was a small satin ribbon tied around the plant’s stem. He gingerly accepted the plant, unsure of what to do with it. He couldn’t stop the confusion from spreading across his face. Naru simply beamed at him.

“We wanted to thank you for taking us around the village today, and I thought Mr. Ukki might be a nice friend to come home to after a long mission. I’m sure it wasn’t at the top of your to-do list for today, but your company was more than welcome, Kakashi-san,” he said honestly, sending the other teen a smile that wasn’t big and gaudy ike many of the grins he was prone to giving. The smile was sincere, gentle and kind.

“Someday I hope that you trust us enough to ask about my life and your father, Kakashi. I look forward to the day when you feel comfortable enough to let me do the same,” Kadeshi said, he too having toned down the more eccentric elements of his personality. Kakashi thought briefly about what kind of conversations would ensue if they did such a thing. “Just know that I am here,” he finished with a bow of his head before throwing his arm around Naru’s shoulder and walking in the direction that Minato had pointed out.

Kakashi could do nothing but stare at their backs, one slumped, the other strong, unsure of what to think of the two strangers who fell into his life. He was certain that their paths were now forever intertwined, but he found himself hating that prospect less and less as time went on.

“Hey Kakashi-san!” Naru said, waiting for the boy to look up at him. Kakashi blinked, showing none of the surprise that he actually felt. Kadeshi and Naru had stopped walking, facing him with the golden sun at their backs. For the first time, Kakashi really saw both of them, and the way the crowded street flowed around them like water. They didn’t stick out amongst the other villagers anymore, and they weren’t so weak as to be swallowed up by the flow of people like they had when they left the hospital. In the span of a single day, Naru and Kadeshi had made Konoha their home.

“Kakashi-kun?” his Uncle shouted. “We’re lost! Which way is it to the barbeque?”


	14. A Dangerous Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

“What took you so long, Minato-san?” Naru teased when the other half of their party arrived at the restaurant. He was practically hopping up and down in place despite walking around the village for the whole day. Minato and Kadeshi were Jonin level shinobi who knew how to hide their fatigue from a long day of activity, but Obito and Rin knew they would have been exhausted. Even Kakashi was sitting on a nearby bench, not a hair out of place, but not willing to stand any longer either.

“How does he have so much energy still? Haven’t you been out all day?” Obito asked, wondering what gave Naru so much stamina. Kadeshi patted the young Uchiha’s shoulder while Minato entertained his own student. Rin drifted closer to them to hear their conversation as well, interested in the blond’s secret to endless vitality. Kakashi was content to listen in from his bench.

“It’s the Uzumaki blood in his veins, Obito-kun. The Uzumaki are well known for their large chakra reserves and seemingly endless stamina. He was born with nearly twice the amount of chakra as a normal baby, and his reserves have only grown since then,” he explained. Obito’s eyes grew wide with awe.

“No way! That’s awesome! I have pretty average reserves for an Uchiha, but a lot of people in my clan have more than me. Do you know much chakra Naru has? I’ve never really been good at sensing that kind of stuff unless they’re people I’m used to. Rin-chan and Bakashi’s chakras are easy for me to see, but all I see when I look at Naru is a big weird blob,” he said, making a funky shape with his hands as he described it. Kadeshi hummed thoughtfully.

“Naru has always had a hard time containing his chakra because of the sheer amount of it, which is probably why it’s extra blurry when you try and isolate it. It’s hard even for me to tell exactly how much he has at any given time. If I had to guess, since we’ve been able to rest without any extended need to use our chakra, I would say his tank is about two-thirds full at this point,” he surmised. Obito and Rin gasped in unison.

“Wow!” Rin cried, staring at the back of the younger blond’s head. “He has as much as me, Obito-kun and Kakashi-kun when we’re at our best. That’s incredible!” she exclaimed. Kadeshi chuckled at her reaction.

“The Uzumaki are not to be taken lightly, Rin-chan. They are brave shinobi and intensely loyal to the people they love. They used to be allies of Konoha, but there are very few left. They have been scattered in the wind to all corners of the world, and I hope to meet more of them someday,” he said honestly. The two Chunin felt the hope in his voice and empathized with him.

“If you’re looking for another Uzumaki, you’ve come to the right place, Kadeshi-san,” Minato called, joining the conversation and subtly revealing that he had been listening in on at least the back half of their conversation.

_‘I swear he’s got ears like a bat, which could definitely get us in trouble. Minato-sensei is also likely to be the one who busts us based on the amount of time we’re going to be spending with him and the team,’_ Kadeshi thought to himself. _'We'll have to be extra careful around him.'_ Naru pounced on the opportunity to inquire about his distant family.

“There’s another Uzumaki here in Konoha?” Naru asked hopefully, almost hesitant to believe in the existence of a long-lost cousin, or in his case, a long-lost mother, within reaching distance. Minato grinned at him.

“Remember that ramen lover I told you about? She’s the one. Her name is Uzumaki Kushina, and I’ve never seen her lose a ramen-eating contest in all of the years I’ve known her,” he said, inciting the fire that had stagnated inside of Naru’s belly. The young blond’s eyes burned brightly with fire and passion. He had always been proud of his ability to eat ramen, but to learn that it was an inherited trait made it even more precious.

“We don’t have time to eat barbeque, sensei! We need to get out there and start training again!” he shouted, stalking towards Kadeshi to drag him to the closest training field he could find that was vacant. Kadeshi sweat dropped, holding his hand up in a lame attempt to stop his determined student.

“H-hey now, Naru-kun! Remember how hungry you are? We need to eat before we start training,” he argued, but to no avail. Luckily, Rin became the true savior of the day. She stepped in between Kadeshi and his hell-bent student with her chest puffed out and her hands on her hips. She put a stern look on her face that stopped dead in his tracks.

“Stop right there, mister!” she barked authoritatively, cutting right through Naru’s determination and triggering the long unbothered part of his brain that was fueled by his fear of Iruka-sensei’s irritated teacher voice. He immediately shrunk under her intense glare.

“You haven’t eaten anything substantial since you had breakfast this morning, and while I understand that you have far more stamina than the average shinobi, the rest of us don’t! We need to refuel our bodies and rest, especially if you want to start training tomorrow! Tsunade-sama will not hesitate to keep you even longer in that hospital, so don’t test your luck. If you don’t get into the practice of taking care of your body, you will face dire consequences later on in life. Don’t get me started on how unhealthy it is to overwork your body so soon after recovering from chakra exhaustion,” she said, launching into a very long and dull speech about the responsibility of all shinobi to take care of their bodies.

The other four men tuned her out once she started throwing medical jargon right into Naru’s face. By the time she was done berating him, their table was ready. Naru was a ball of misery after receiving the verbal equivalent of a beating from a tiny Chunin girl who, on a normal day, was too shy to tell her crush that she liked him. Kadeshi was struggling not to smile at the very thought of the man he saw as his equal in every way being so defeated after falling subject to such a torment. They were happily enjoying their meal when a familiar face sat down at their table.

“Weird pervert guy! What are you doing here?” Obito said cheekily with his mouth full of food. The Sannin grimaced at the sight of the young Uchiha’s table manners and helped himself to some of the boy’s food as payment for seeing the partially masticated _thing_ in his mouth.

“What happened to your “research” sensei? I thought you were busy tonight,” Minato asked with a knowing smirk on his face, spying the black eye the Sannin hadn’t had the day before. Jiraiya huffed at him and turned his attention to Kadeshi and Naru.

“I came for these two actually. The Sandaime has requested your presence, but the matter is not urgent. You can report to his office once you finish your meal,” he said. Kadeshi and Naru bowed their heads in thanks for the message, but both were curious as to why they were being summoned out of the blue.

They carried on some easy conversations for a while after that. Jiraiya ordered himself some food and enjoyed the company of both Naru and Kadeshi, who shared a bottle of sake with him.

“What kind of research do you do, Jiraiya-sama?” Naru asked innocently, feigning genuine interest in the older man’s escapades. Like a chain reaction of responses, Jiraiya grinned as Minato groaned. Rin growled, gripping her chopsticks tight enough to snap them into pieces. Obito flushed bright pink, spilling his drink all over himself. Kakashi had the decency to cough into his hand and look away like he hadn’t been adversely affected by the question. Kadeshi took in their combined reactions and laughed.

“It seems you live a dangerous life indeed, Jiraiya-sama,” he said with good spirits, holding up a dish of sake in his honor before downing it. The white haired man laughed boisterously in the middle of the restaurant with no shame. Naru was practically bouncing in his seat.

“Come on Jiraiya-sama! Tell me! Everyone else already knows!” he argued, eager to know what kind of research the Toad Sannin conducted. Jiraiya giggled lecherously and beckoned the blond closer. Kadeshi quickly intervened with a hand on Naru’s face.

“Now now, there are some secrets that are meant to stay between senseis, Jiraiya-sama. If my adorable little student knew all the facts of life too soon there would be no excitement left in his life,” Kadeshi argued in favor of keeping the not-so-secret secret. Jiraiya laughed again.

“As much as I would love to introduce this young man to the finer aspects of the adult male life, I believe you’re right, Kadeshi-san. Sorry young grasshopper, but you will conduct your own research someday, and I’d hate to ruin the surprise for you!” he said with a grin. Naruto threw his hands up in the air.

“What the hell sensei?! I was this close!” he yelled, squishing the fingertips of his pointer and index finger together and shoving them in the silver haired man’s face. “All you ever do is ruin my fun. I bet you were a grumpy old man in your past life,” Naru pouted, folding his arms across his chest. Kadeshi ruffled his hair.

“As much as I’d love for you to experience what it’s like to be a man, I’d rather not have to collect you from the hospital after your first encounter with the other kind.” Minato chuckled at that, clearly relieved that there would be no soiling of pure souls at their dinner table that night.

Kadeshi and Naru finished their food quickly after that and excused themselves to meet the Hokage. Jiraiya rose to follow them, and all three bid farewell to Team Minato.

Once outside, the easy atmosphere immediately grew more somber. Jiraiya sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know what the Sandaime wants from you, but he asked me to escort you to his office rather than Torture and Interrogation, so I doubt the discussion he wants to have will lead anywhere too bad,” he admitted, trying to reassure the two strangers. Naru gulped noticeably despite trying to seem stoic. Kadeshi mimicked Jiraiya's sigh.

“I just hope he doesn’t ask me about the order that I put in for new weapons. I get that the bill was high, but I didn’t think it was _that_ much,” he pined. Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow, intrigued by the response.

“What did you buy that was so expensive?” he asked. Kadeshi thought for a minute, recounting the list in its entirety before reciting it for the Sannin. The man’s slackened jaw informed the scarecrow that his weapons bill was indeed _that_ much.

#### Office of the Sandaime Hokage

Jiraiya knocked softly before entering the Sandaime’s office, locking eyes with the old man to tell him without words that the plan was good to go. Kadeshi and Naru strolled in after him, but both stopped just shy of leaving the doorway when they noticed there was another person in the room with them. Both were familiar with him, and his influence over Konoha.

“Kadeshi-san, Naru-kun, please come in and have a seat,” the Sandaime welcomed them, gesturing with his hand to the two seats placed neatly in front of his desk. “I’d like to introduce you to an old friend, Shimura Danzo. We were just finishing up our discussion when I sent Jiraiya for you.” Naru and Kadeshi bowed stiffly, but that could have been for a number of reasons. Danzo simply eyed them wordlessly, paying close attention to Naru before bidding farewell to the Hokage. Before he could leave, he stopped, turning back to the foreigners.

“I’m curious, Hatake-san,” he started, drawing Kadeshi’s stone-cold eye over to his own. “Where did you get this tanto?” he asked, pulling the sheathed blade out of one of his sleeves. Kadeshi recognized it as the blade he thought he had lost. Realizing that the War-Hawk was still waiting for him to answer the question, Kadeshi remembered his manners.

“I won it in a duel during my travels. Why?” he asked, holding out his right hand to take it back from the older man. Danzo’s face remained impassive but prejudiced enough for Kadeshi and Naru to know that he thought very little of them. He tossed the blade to Kadeshi, who caught it and automatically adjusted his grip on the tanto. Danzo’s eye narrowed in on the action, curious as to why the owner of an Iwa tanto would be unfamiliar with the best way to wield it. It spoke to Kadeshi’s rare use of the blade, or his more recent acquisition of it.

“Like I said, curiosity,” Danzo said tightly, his single hard eye sliding menacingly over to Naru and lingering there as if he was eagerly awaiting their next encounter. Naru could not school his features fast enough to mask his distaste for the aging advisor. Both in the past and the present, Naru had never been able to relax around Danzo. The man was a predator through and through, and Naru didn’t appreciate being looked at as if he was a helpless rodent before the talons of a mighty hawk.

“Is there something you need from me, Danzo- _sama_?” Naru bit out, tone cold and eyes like frozen pools of water. The Sandaime leaned forward on his desk, steepling his fingers and observing the interaction with interest now that it had turned in a direction he had honestly been expecting. Naru’s hot flashes of temper were very predictable when he felt threatened, and if there was anything Danzo was good at, it was stirring up emotions and feeding off of the reactions. Kadeshi’s eye flashed dangerously, but it leveled itself at Naru, well aware that the blond was treading into dangerous territory.

The old war hawk simply smirked, turning to leave the office, but not before glancing over his shoulder at the riled up teen. “I’ll be watching, Uzumaki Naru. You are certainly a specimen worthy of my attention,” he said, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Naru heaved a sigh of relief, but he was not in the clear just yet.

“ _Control yourself_ , Naru!” Kadeshi barked, the frown on his face a clear indication of how he felt about his student’s showing. “You are not so weak as to lose control of your emotions in front of a man like him.” Naru winced at the scolding, his sensei’s irritated voice slicing right through the sound of blood rushing through his veins. He realized that there was a lot at stake already, the anger of Shimura Danzo would give them unnecessary troubles, but he had been inviting it regardless.

Jiraiya and the Sandaime were both troubled by the prospect of Danzo creeping along in Naru’s shadow, but they were more surprised by the hard edge that Kadeshi’s tone had taken. They had heard it before, in the hospital when he had first awoken only a few days earlier, but the Hatake had never once turned such a harsh tone on his beloved student. It served to remind them that Kadeshi was capable of holding authority over Naru, despite the largely carefree attitude that he had shown them until that moment.

The fact that Naru, a man saturated with a unique power unlike any other, would submit willingly to anybody showed the amount of respect that he had for the Hatake. Whether it was respect for his strength or his wisdom, was debatable, but it was respect nonetheless.

“I apologize for my behavior, Sandaime-sama,” Naru said, bowing to the Hokage. “There is something about his presence that unsettles me, but that is no excuse for my actions.” The Sandaime accepted the apology easily enough, understanding where the boy was coming from. If anything, it confirmed for the old man that Naru was of good character and possessed the courage to bite back at a man like Danzo. He would make a fine shinobi, and a strong ally, indeed.

“I’m sure you’re wondering as to why I asked you here so late at night?” the Sandaime started, leaving the minor scene that had just occurred in his office in the past. Kadeshi and Naru presented themselves in front of his desk, curious indeed. “Tsunade stopped by earlier today and informed me that both of you will be free to leave the hospital in the morning on the condition that Kadeshi,” and here he paused, eyes boring holes into the Hatake, who suddenly didn’t want to make eye contact with him.

“As long as Kadeshi-san refrains from any serious fighting or training that falls outside the category of basic chakra exercises and mild strength training, you will both be released tomorrow. Jiraiya will stop by to accompany you to the Hatake estate and ensure that you don’t have any problems settling in. What you do after is up to you. Do remember that your true test of skill is yet to come. For now, Konoha is your haven, and her people, your friends. Make the most of your time here, Naru-kun, Kadeshi-san. I look forward to seeing how you rise to the occasion,” he finished, clasping his hands together.

The excitement bleeding out of Naru’s body was nearly visible. Kadeshi sighed, shooting a tired glance over at his energized pupil.

“Great, now the damn brat is never going to fall asleep,” he griped, but based on the quirk of lips, the Sandaime and Jiraiya could tell that he was smothering his own celebration.

“I can’t wait, sensei! Our own place here in Konoha! And we’ll finally be able to train again,” Naru cheered to himself. “Minato-san said he would help out too, this is going to be great!” Kadeshi smiled openly this time at Naru. He too, couldn’t wait for a chance to work his body without worry of an ambush or constantly conserving enough energy to fight an enemy assassin to the death.

Deep in Kadeshi’s heart, however, a long forgotten emotion began to stir. It had been many years since he had set foot inside of his childhood home. Many years indeed. Long enough that he could no longer remember what he had left behind and what he was soon to see again.

On the way back to the hospital, while Naru was thinking of the future, Kadeshi was stuck in the past. He recognized the dread lingering in him like a black pit. Dread for the coming day and the opportunity he never had to make peace with the memories he had of what used to be his home. Kadeshi had made peace with the death of his Father and the principles he lived by, but he was starting to remember the reason why he never once went back after that night.

He had tried to overcome it as a young man, angry and bitter, but always ended up a trembling mess on the doorstep, unable to even cross the threshold of the doorway. That weakness fueled his hatred of his father and encouraged him not to try again, and eventually, he listened.

_‘The past is the past, but I have no choice this time. I have to try again,’_ Kadeshi thought to himself, glancing over at his silent companion. Naru’s head was craned back, staring up at the stars that glittered in the sky. Before the older man could look away, Naru’s blue eyes, so very clear and mimicking the night sky by catching the lights on the street that surrounded them, flicked over to meet his.

Without a single word needing to be uttered, he made it clear that he had noticed Kadeshi’s silent turmoil. It was a small matter, however, he would have learned about it soon enough. No amount of self-preparation would be able to convince Kadeshi to get over his issues with the Hatake Estate before he was actually there in person to face them head on. With a quiet sigh, he let go of his worries and offered up a smile. He had all the help he would ever need, walking easily alongside him with a grin of his own.


	15. From the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Konoha Hospital- the Next Morning

Naru and Kadeshi slept soundly despite the excitement that both knew the morning would bring. They awoke to the sound of chirping birds only moments before the nurses arrived to finish with final checkups and document their official release in the hospital’s records. Jiraiya was waiting for them in the lobby of the hospital. He was making an attempt at flirting with the receptionist at the front desk, but she, like all the rest of the female staff, was well aware of his reputation.

Jiraiya had long suspected that Tsunade was the reason he could never find any action with any kind of medical personnel from Konoha. Right as he was about to call it quits with the stone-cold woman, Naru and Kadeshi emerged from the entrance to the central staircase and met him at the receptionist’s counter.

The young blond had decided to wear black pants, his old black sandals and a low cut orange top with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. She smiled sweetly at Naru, who complimented the way she had braided her hair that morning. He had taken to giving the woman a few sweet words whenever he saw her, well aware that her desk job was fairly boring outside of time spent interacting with her fellow staff and the occasional patient. Jiraiya was astonished to see the blush light up her face when the young blond conversed with her. He also leaned forward enough to give the woman a peek down the front of his shirt at his young and well-muscled chest, which only made her more flustered.

The Sannin’s jealousy soared even higher when Naru bid her farewell with a kiss on her hand and a playful wink right as Kadeshi stepped up to the counter, leaning his right arm on it to speak with the distracted receptionist. The Hatake was wearing the same dark pants as his student, but wore boots instead of sandals and a light gray tank top. A sage green jacket was draped over his shoulders and did a decent-enough job of hiding the fact that he only had one arm. His hair was an attractive silver mess, thrown to one side with the help of a black bandana sloping to cover the left eye that he was also missing.

The poor receptionist was having a hard time looking at the man who had dressed himself like a dashing rogue with the charming smile to match. Kadeshi was leaning over onto her side of the counter, and Jiraiya couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw her leaning closer towards him, enamored lips starting to part as she listened to whatever it was he was saying. She might have felt a certain kind of puppy-love for the young and exuberant Uzumaki Naru, but his companion effortlessly left her oozing with desire.

Jiraiya barely caught the end of their conversation and a quick “see you later” that left the receptionist nodding dumbly. Speech was lost to her for the moment as her handsome patient ran his fingers lightly under her chin before he pulled himself away from the closeness they had been sharing.

Soon enough Jiraiya was leading Kadeshi and his student down the street towards the Hatake Estate, stuck in a foul mood. He couldn’t leave the matter unaddressed, and turned to ask Naru how he had flirted with the receptionist so effortlessly. The teen grinned at him before gesturing to Kadeshi.

“My sensei taught me, Jiraiya-sama. I asked him how he got so good at it and all he would say is that he learned from the best,” he explained cheerfully, hiding his laughter behind both of his hands when Jiraiya whipped around to confront Kadeshi about his source of knowledge on how to pick up chicks. Kadeshi was waiting for him with a smirk set in his smug face.

“Who did I learn from, Jiraiya-sama?” he started, leaning in close, as if he was about to reveal a long-held secret. Jiraiya felt his heart beating in his chest and steam fly out of his nose at the thought of discovering someone who knew even more than he did about the art of seducing feminine beauties. Kadeshi reached into his pocket, feeling the familiar edges of his favorite of Jiraiya’s novels: Icha Icha Paradise. Sadly, it didn’t exist in their current timeline, so he couldn’t proclaim himself as Jiraiya’s biggest fan just yet.

“Yes! Yes! Tell me!” Jiraiya insisted, inching closer. Kadeshi was having too much fun.

“I learned while I was in the public baths or hot springs of every place I’ve ever traveled,” he said nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just admitted to being a peeping tom. Jiraiya’s face fell, happy to learn that there was another man who understood his genius, but disappointed to find out that he wouldn’t have any new material to work with this time around. With a resounding sigh, he clapped Kadeshi on the back.

“Thank you for sharing your secrets with me, my friend. Someday we shall have to conduct research together and with our combined charm, I am sure that the women will come falling at our feet,” he announced, ignoring the dirty looks that the women surrounding them on the street were sending. Naru could contain his giggles no longer, erupting in a torrent of laughter that shook his whole body and made him clutch his stomach to keep from falling over.

“What’s so funny, you brat?” Jiraiya asked sourly, mildly upset at the interruption of his grand moment. Naru’s sweet laughter tapered off long enough for him to squeeze out the truth.

“Your “research” is seriously peeping on women? No wonder Rin-chan got so mad,” he laughed, turning to walk in the direction that they had previously been traveling in. Jiraiya looked a little put out by the interruption of his grand moment, but he shook it off with little trouble and more than a touch of indignation.

“Just because she can’t understand the beauty that my work will become, doesn’t mean that it’s not a good use of my time,” he argued lamely. Kadeshi nodded alongside him, very much in agreement. He would never find a worthy replacement for his leisurely reads if Jiraiya didn’t write his masterpieces.

“Now hold on a minute,” Jiraiya said, thoughts screeching to a halt. “If your research methods are the same as mine, how come you’re so much more successful than I am?!” he yelled, turning on Kadeshi once more. Naru’s snickering resumed in the background. Kadeshi could only shrug, rubbing the back of his neck as he figured out how to break the news to the Sannin.

“I guess I’m just finding the right ladies?” he suggested lamely, surprised to see that Jiraiya took the answer and ran with it.

“Of course! Of course! That has to be the answer! Tsunade couldn’t have reached all the women in the village, and I always do better when I’m away from Konoha. That has to be it!” he deduced, giggling to himself with his own perverse thoughts. Kadeshi let out a sigh of relief, happy to have dodged that bullet.

_ ‘It’s not like I can tell him to his face that it’s because he’s older and creepier than most women prefer and way too easy to catch peeping in on a hot spring. Tsunade didn’t have to work very hard to spread that fire,’ _ he thought to himself. Naru’s laughing petered out when he felt a strong negative presence creeping around the edge of his mind. Looking casually around for its source, he spotted a quiet looking house set away from the street only a few lots down.

“Well, now that we’re here, I think my job here is done,” Jiraiya cheered happily once they stopped in front of the strange house. He slapped the keys to the front door into Kadeshi’s hand and rushed off in the direction of the nearest public bath. He shouted something over his shoulder about “new researching ideas” as he went, leaving Naru and Kadeshi standing in a cloud of his dust. Naru shook his head at Jiraiya’s unhealthy obsession and looked to Kadeshi.

The man was staring at the path before them that disappeared behind the overgrown plant life that was decorating the front of the house. It served to unsettle the blond, knowing that the ominous presence he had felt was coming from the place they were about to be living in. He steeled himself, however, and voiced his thoughts on the situation.

“We have to go in, sensei,” Naru urged gently, taking the keys from his hand and leading the way. He was glad to hear the man following along behind him. The door opened with a light shove, throwing sunlight into the room for the first time in years. Naru entered without hesitation, determined to be Kadeshi’s strength. He turned and held his hand out over the threshold for Kadeshi to take.

Kadeshi was taking in every scratch on the paint and every dent in the walls when it hit him. The smell that had never managed to leave the house even years after it had last been left there. It was the scent of his father and his father’s blood. It used to make him sick to his stomach. The scent would bleed through the walls and out the front door even when it was closed tight. There was a time when he couldn’t stand the smell of blood because it followed him everywhere, but that time had passed.

Kadeshi clasped Naru’s hand, entering the house and letting the door shut softly behind him. His student’s soft smile of encouragement convinced him to keep walking. The house was completely still; a fine layer of dust had settled over everything.

“You never once came back?” Naru asked him, running his finger through the dust that had collected on a table. Kadeshi shrugged, feet moving without him having to tell them where to go.

“At first it wasn’t because of a lack of trying,” he admitted, finding a certain room down a familiar hall. He raised his hand to knock before realizing he didn’t have to anymore with a brief flash of embarrassment.  _ ‘Am I really this skittish about being here after so long? Pull yourself together, you’re not a little kid anymore,’ _ he said to himself, opening the sliding door and practically throwing himself inside before he could talk himself out of it.

“He’s not here, sensei,” Naru called to him from the open doorway. He hadn’t entered, realizing that Kadeshi needed to come to terms with the space on his own. “I’ll go wander, scream if you see your father’s ghost,” he threw over his shoulder, anticipating no response. Naru briefly wondered how Kakashi would feel inside of the house, suspecting his sensei’s feelings to be watered down some.

Kadeshi looked at the spot on the floor where he had last seen his father’s corpse, blood seeping into the floor. There wasn’t a single stain left, no lingering shadow of a crumpled man, or a phantom waiting for retaliation. It was the empty study of an exceedingly tidy man, just like he used to remember. He heaved a sigh and took a moment to glance around the study, not exactly eager to snoop around his father’s study.

As he was leaving the stuffy room, a shout of alarm rang out from the front of the house. Naru was by his side in an instant, checking him over for injuries before looking in the study. After finding nothing, he looked up at Kadeshi with a strange look on his face.

“That wasn’t you was it?” he asked. Kadeshi shook his head, gesturing to the front door. They crept closer, quiet, though they weren’t sure what they were hiding from.

“It came from over there,” he said, right as they heard a solid thud just outside. Naru and Kadeshi both jumped, exchanging glances and wondering if there really was a ghost waiting for them.

“Kakashi! Kakashi, stay with me!” Minato’s strained voice shouted through the heavy door, startling both time travelers into action. Kadeshi opened the door to see Minato kneeling on the ground with a barely conscious Kakashi swaddled in his arms. The blond looked rather startled at his student’s sudden reaction, and the arrival of two familiar faces reminded him of the current situation. Kakashi was shaking, eyes clenched shut and hands gripping Minato’s hand that was holding down on his chest to keep him from moving too much.

“He collapsed as soon as we got close to the house. Stand back, I’m going to transport him to the hospital,” Minato decided quickly, scooping the boy into his arms. Kadeshi himself snapped into action as a sensei and a concerned relative.

“Wait!” he shouted, effectively halting Minato. “Bring him inside, Minato-san, he’s just having a panic attack,” Kadeshi instructed calmly, moving out of the way so Minato could comply. When he hesitated, Naru resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“My sage energy can calm him down, Minato-san. Trust us,” the young blond urged, already gathering his sage chakra. The air inside of the Hatake Estate could be a little sweeter in his opinion, and if they played their cards right, they might just be able to start Kakashi on the path of forgiving his father. If they failed, they would have to find another way into the young Hatake’s impenetrable heart.

Kakashi could feel himself going deeper into the house and began to fight Minato, yelling short, choppy syllables that nobody could make sense of. Kadeshi was intimately familiar with the thoughts running through his younger self’s mind, but seeing it as an outside spectator left him feeling something that he couldn’t quite describe. With Minato present as well as Kadeshi himself, all of the people who could hold any kind of authority over Kakashi were present to help him and guide him in his moment of weakness. The kid would be pissed about anyone seeing him in such a fragile mental state, but Kadeshi wasn’t too worried about that.

Eventually, Minato managed to wrestle him onto the large dining room table, practically laying on top of him in order to stop his thrashing. Naru stepped up with a determined expression and laid his hands on either side of Kakashi’s head. He closed his red eyes and took in a deep breath, sighing gently and asking his sage chakra to go to work. The warmth of Naru’s chakra made Kakashi’s struggling subside as he sought out its strength before even considering its origin.

“Minato-san, I need some of your chakra,” Naru asked, expecting more hesitation from the boy’s sensei. He was surprised to feel Minato’s warm palm cupping one of the hands that hovered around Kakashi’s silver locks. “He knows your chakra, Minato-san and he needs some guidance right now,” Naru offered by way of explanation. Kadeshi was standing on Kakashi’s other side, unable to do anything but watch for the time being.

“Kakashi, you can get through this,” Minato said to him as Naru continued to feed the boy his radiant energy to soothe his trembling muscles and relieve the pain he was feeling in his chest and abdomen. Minato took one of Kakashi’s hands and placed it on his own chest, breathing deep and strong breaths. Slowly but surely, his rapid pulse began to slow.

“Good Kakashi, good. Breath in, just like me,” he murmured softly, trying to coax his student back to the reality that he had left behind. Kadeshi decided that enough was enough and he wasn’t going to be a lonely spectator in their current situation.

“It’s not the place that is bothering you, Kakashi,” Kadeshi’s gentle voice broke in, interrupting Kakashi’s thoughts of his father with a voice that sounded uncannily similar to Sakumo’s. It commanded his attention, and Kakashi’s body stopped moving, waiting for it to speak again. “It is not this place that haunts you, but the thoughts that you cannot control when you are here. I understand that you are scared,” the voice said, and Minato realized for the first time exactly how much of an impact Sakumo’s suicide had on his son.

Kakashi was a shinobi who showed no fear while on assignments, and expressed a lot of cold fury whenever his father was brought up, but they were nothing more than parts of a mask that he used to cover up his fear. His fear of being abandoned and feeling worthless, like he was of no use to anyone and didn’t deserve his life.

“But there is no danger here waiting for you, Kakashi, only friends,” Kadeshi finished, having witnessed Minato’s revelation. The more people they recruited to their cause, the better, and Minato was a strong ally to have. Kakashi finally seemed to come down from his panicked state, breathing normally with a neutral expression on his face. Minato and Naru both withdrew their hands when they realized that Kakashi had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

“That could have gone a lot worse, thank you both,” Minato offered, bowing his head to Kadeshi and Naru. The blond waved off the thanks with a blinding grin, using the remnants of the sage energy he had gathered to bring a little life back to the dreary interior of the Hatake Estate. Noticing the solemn look on Kadeshi’s face, and the awkward gestures that indicated Minato still had something to say, Naru excused himself to go open a few windows and get a breeze flowing through the house again.

“Forgive my negligence, Kadeshi-san,” Minato blurted out as soon as Naru had left the room. “If I had known that Kakashi felt so… intensely about his childhood home then I wouldn’t have brought him here in the first place,” he apologized. The older Hatake waved his hand lazily.

“It’s alright, Minato-san. If that boy is anything like me, and his father, he wouldn’t tell you about his demons even if you tried to beat it out of him,” he said, trying to reassure Minato, but failing to as he pointed out to the blond that Kakashi could be suffering without his knowledge.

“Besides, consider it a small victory that he is content and asleep, not running as fast as he can away from this place. If we hadn’t confronted this problem today, would he have gotten any better over time? Or simply bottled up his emotions until he was ready to burn this house to the ground himself? I think you know the answer, Minato-san,” Kadeshi said, settling himself in a nearby chair, waiting for Kakashi to wake up.

“You make a good point,” Minato conceded, sitting in his own chair to wait. “But we shall see if we’ve made any progress when he wakes up. Just getting him to calm down while he’s near hysterical isn’t enough to convince me at this point,” he admitted, much to Kadeshi’s satisfaction, seeing as he had been thinking the same thing.

After a few minutes of silence spent awkwardly watching Kakashi, Naru returned to the dining area with a hopeful question stirring around in his brain. “Minato-san? Are Rin-chan and Obito training today?” he asked somewhat shyly, itching to get out of an enclosed space and stretch his wings. Minato blinked once before the question registered and he groaned, covering his face with his hands.

“I forgot that they’re waiting for Kakashi-kun and I at our Training Field. Are you interested in joining them? That was our initial purpose for coming to see you this morning, to ask if you wanted to train today,” he admitted. Naru’s demeanor instantly energized and he bounded over to his sensei to get his permission, well aware that he already had it.

“I suppose you can go learn something, just make sure you don’t over exhaust yourself, Naru-kun,” Kadeshi supplied with a sigh. “And no using your sage mode. You’ll grow to depend on it if you don’t train with your body and your other techniques,” he added as an important afterthought. Naru nodded obediently, dashing out of the room to find his shinobi gear and get ready to go meet the remnants of Team Minato.

He was out the door before Minato could stop and give him directions, to which Kadeshi simply shrugged. “If he gets lost, he’ll come back eventually.” Minato let out a huff of amusement.

“I suppose you’re right. Obito-kun and Rin-chan might have already left to go and meet up with some of the other Chunin to do joint training today. I hope Naru-kun doesn’t mind too much.” Kadeshi laughed at the thought of Naru coming face to face with all of the Jonin-senseis of his time, only they would be younger than him now.

“I’m sure he’ll make the best of the opportunity, and find a few friends in the process.”


	16. Caught in the Act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

#### Streets of Konoha

“What’s taking them so long? Everyone else is probably there already!” Obito griped, sagging his shoulders for added effect as he and Rin started walking towards one of the training fields that adjoined their own. Rin could only sigh and shrug hers.

“I don’t know, Obito-kun. We’ll just have to start without them,” she said, but a quirk of her lips caught the young Uchiha’s eye. “Maybe they found an old lady who needed help with her groceries?” she proposed, expecting Obito’s quick defense. Instead, she got a rare and pensive expression out of her jab at his perpetual lateness.

“You know, I did see a distinct lack of elderly women this morning on my way to our usual spot. Maybe they helped everyone before I could get there?” he thought aloud, much to Rin’s amusement.

“You could be right, Obito-kun,” she laughed from behind her hands, but it faded when she saw a familiar head of blond hair crossing the street in front of her. “Naru-kun! Wait up a minute!” she called, grabbing Obito’s hand and pulling him along after Naru’s retreating figure. Obito’s heart skipped a beat and nearly caused him to trip over thin air before he could catch up with his teammate’s abrupt head start, saving himself from an embarrassing tumble.

“Oh? Hey, I found you two! Good morning!” Naru greeted them warmly, keenly aware of Obito’s intense blush and his inability to look anywhere in Rin’s direction while she was still holding onto his hand. Even after she let it go to greet Naru, Obito’s brain needed a minute to catch up before he could do the same. “I was looking for you, actually. My sensei and Minato-san are over at the Hatake estate with Kakashi-san talking about boring clan stuff, so they sent me to train with you,” he explained easily, seeing the concern flash over their faces as soon as he made it clear he knew where their missing teammates were.

“We’re meeting up with some friends to work on team training, is your body strong enough to fully participate?” Rin asked him seriously, giving him the opportunity to back out if he didn’t feel well enough. Naturally, Naru flashed her a dazzling grin and beckoned the two Chunin to lead the way.

“I’ll be alright, Rin-chan. You guys are pretty boring, so I’m not worried about overexerting myself. I hope your friends are at least a little more fun,” he joked, winking at Rin and elbowing Obito in the ribs before dodging the swing the Uchiha took at him with a laugh. Obito’s expression was devilish as he lunged at the blond once more, livening up the solemn mood that had fallen over him and his teammate.

“Oh yeah? Well you and your lame-ass flower powers won’t stand a chance against the rest of us, blondie! Now you’re the second person I’m gonna kick the crap out of once my Sharingan awakens!” he shouted, starting a game of cat and mouse. Naru laughed alongside the young Uchiha, dodging his grabs and skirting around Rin all the while.

“Second? I guess I’m gonna have to work harder than that,” he giggled, ducking low behind Rin and tripping Obito as he tried to skirt around her to reach him. They chased each other all the way to the training grounds, slipping past Rin all the while and careful not to tumble into her. She was occasionally inclined to warp their surroundings with simple genjutsu to give either boy the upper hand, if only for a moment.

Both shinobi were enjoying the chance to show off their agility and even some impressive feats of acrobatics, much to the endearment of some of the surrounding civilians. They had seen the impact of the war on all people in the village, especially its young shinobi. To see two of them dancing around each other, testing themselves because they wanted to and not because they were desperate and their lives depended on it, was refreshing. It gave them some semblance of hope.

Eventually they reached the desired training field, which was quite a ways from the Hatake Estate. Naru wouldn’t have had any trouble finding them with his sage mode, but catching Obito and Rin on the way saved him from some awkward questions should he have run into the wrong people while he was still en route. Obito was just catching his breath while Naru was getting himself ready for the real fun, stretching his arms and legs with rampant enthusiasm. Obito could only shake his head in disbelief, recalling Kadeshi’s words from the previous night.

“You really do have a lot of energy, don’t you?” he panted, plopping down in the grass while they waited for the remainder of their party to arrive. Naru was unabashed about his stamina, smiling broadly at the Uchiha.

“It comes in handy when I’m training a new jutsu,” he admitted. “Plus I don’t really have to worry about running out. I know I’m in trouble if I can feel myself running low in a fight, but that doesn’t happen too often.” Rin made a mental note to ask Naru how he was feeling periodically throughout the day, just to make sure he wasn’t pushing himself past the limits that his body had created for him. The worst thing for a chakra-monster like Naru to forget was that his chakra supply was finite. No matter how much he knew he had, it would run out eventually. That eventually had already found him once.

Naru’s thoughts were traveling the same line as Rin’s while he gauged his chakra levels during his warm up. _‘I got lucky that Team Minato found me out in the woods and not somebody with bad intentions, but there’s no guarantee that I will be that fortunate a second time,’_ he thought solemnly, but his mood brightened again when a few familiar chakra signatures began to approach.

Before long, Naru was face to face with figures from the past, though they had changed quite a bit since the last time he had seen them. _‘Should I be surprised that Guy-sensei has been wearing that jumpsuit since he was a kid? Probably not,’_ he thought with a sigh, watching the kid who would be known as the Blue Beast of Konoha someday slowly crawl into the field on four shaky limbs. Mitarashi Anko was perched on his shoulders, legs tucked underneath her, and glaring at the young man walking next to her and her ride. Shiranui Genma, who was seated on Guy’s lower back, was lounging easily, quietly, content to chew the end off of the senbon needle sticking out of his mouth.

“Hang in there, Guy…” he said noncommittally. “You can make it.” In hindsight, maybe two people were a little much for somebody who was relatively the same size as they were.

“Almost… there! I can… make it!” Guy wheezed, determined, despite carrying the extra weight. “If I can’t… I’ll run… around the village… two hundred… times… on one… foot!” he cried, missing Genma’s hefty sigh as his friend once again gave himself an impossible task that he would find a way to complete.

Usually Genma offered to be Guy’s training weight, occasionally lazy enough to take the free ride. This time, however, Anko pressured Guy into “accepting the challenge” of two passengers rather than one, “in the name of all that is youthful.” That last line made Genma shudder, and the explosion that followed, with Might Guy at its epicenter, was brighter than normal. Thus, Guy was starting off the day harder than anyone else in the village and the world spun on like normal.

Asuma, without a cigarette and without his deep voice or facial hair, was entirely uninterested in where his feet were walking, or the daggers digging into the side of his head, too busy trying to make the Chunin on his other side laugh. Her startling red eyes were no match for the Sharingan, but they were unsettling all the same. Kurenai was hiding her giggles behind one of her hands and Anko was gagging behind Asuma’s back, fed up with her best friend’s lame attempts at playing coy.

A strong foot lashed out at Asuma, pushing him right on top of Kurenai. They fell to the ground together and might have kissed, but Asuma was quick to get his legs back under them before anyone could see. He was furious and blushing hard while Kurenai was still trying to process what had happened, blinking dazedly into thin air. Rin and Obito rushed over to help her up while Asuma rounded on Anko, the only one in the group mean enough to attack a distracted ally without any semblance of restraint.

Her smirk was fierce and she hopped off of Guy’s shoulders with a menacing step towards Asuma. He matched her step with his own smoldering fury, not at all willing to back down. Genma relieved Guy of his weight and pulled the other boy to his feet, assuring him that he really didn’t have to hop all the way around the village for losing his feisty training weight before he could finish. Genma rolled his eyes at the mounting tension between the two Chunin and readied himself to intervene, as much as he loathed the thought.

Before Anko and Asuma could come to blows, both stopped dead in their tracks, feeling an intense pair of eyes staring at them. They turned to see a blond teen smiling at them from his spot on the ground, his piercing blue eyes never wavering, but not quite seeing them either. Anko felt her eyes twitching in irritation as Asuma grew weary, recognizing the teenager from the last interaction he had with him.

“What the hell is he doing here? We’re not his babysitters are we?” she asked bluntly, jerking her thumb over his shoulder. Kurenai and Rin sighed at Anko’s rudeness, but answered anyway.

“His name is Naru, because I know you meant to ask, and he’s going to train with us today while Kakashi and Minato-sensei are busy doing clan stuff,” Obito offered by way of explanation. “He may look like an idiot, but he won’t fall behind.” Naru snorted at the insult, but silently appreciated the Uchiha’s support. Genma cast Naru a largely unimpressed glance before addressing the assembled crowd of Chunin.

“We’re here to train, not beat each other up prematurely, right? Can we get started _before_ the sun goes down?” he asked tiredly. Anko huffed, looking away with a pout on her young face.

“Well what can we do? None of us have a complete team right now,” she pointed out sourly. Asuma’s eyes drifted back over to Kurenai, surprised to see her looking at him. Neither could hold their gaze for very long after that, looking anywhere else in the field with hot faces.

_‘They’re gonna be no help for a while,’_ Rin’s inner and exasperated voice informed her. “We have enough for two teams of four though. There’s a lot we can do with that,” she offered. Guy raised his hand sharply, stepping into the middle of their haphazardly formed circle.

“I know what we should do to showcase the awesomeness of our youth! Let’s have a _youthful_ 8-way battle roy-” Anko’s fist connected with his head and cut him off rather abruptly.

“Next idea!” she barked, standing over Guy’s smoking body. Naru lost himself in tracing the features of Anko’s face, so animated and emotional as a youth. She was even more exuberant than her older self had been, he noted. Obito glanced over at Naru, surprised to see him staring at Anko, his eyes flashing briefly around the group before returning to her once more. It took him a moment to realize that Naru looked more sad than anything else, but before he could ask why, Anko also took notice of Naru’s cloudy gaze.

“You! New kid! If you’re going to train with us, wake up and contribute!” she snapped. Naru had already been playing with an idea in his head, well aware that he wouldn’t be able to test his limits while under the scrutinizing eyes of seven other Chunin, but there were other ways to have his fun.

“We could always play a game,” he suggested with a smile, much to the irritation of their group’s impromptu ringleader.

“A game? What the hell is wrong with you? We’re here to train! Not fool around like babies playing stupid games,” Anko seethed, and suddenly, she launched herself at him. Naru let her knock him to the ground with a strong punch and straddle his waist. “Wake up moron, there’s a war going on outside of the village, or did you not notice while you were off screwing yourself before you got here?” she challenged him, fisting his shirt and swinging lower at his pride than she would ever realize she could hit.

Naru’s features closed off, and his eyes grew distant, shutting himself away from the girl’s accusations. Obito was growing angrier by the minute, watching Anko harass his newfound friend right after meeting him. She had no right and no reason to be so vicious with him, but nobody was stepping forward to defend Naru. It made sense, seeing as the Uzumaki was the outcast among them, even more of a black sheep than he was. 

“Back off, Anko!” Obito shouted, pulling Anko off of the blond and standing between them. The others were surprised by the Uchiha’s rare boldness. Usually Anko’s overbearing personality would squash anything Obito had to say, but not this time. “You don’t know anything about him so quit judging!” he bit out in retaliation. Anko’s eyes narrowed, and Naru had a feeling that he wouldn’t like where she was about to take the conversation.

“And what makes you think you know anything about him, Uchiha? Your team just brought him home without thinking twice about it,” she said scathingly, bringing their sensei into the situation to try and rile him up even farther. Obito didn’t answer right away, but Naru’s hand on his shoulder spared him from having to.

“I may not fully understand the war that is taking the lives of your comrades every day, but I understand fighting in them very well. Rest assured, when I suggested that we play a game, I wasn’t referring to a kids game, nor did I have any intention of offending you,” he explained. Obito considered him for a moment before nodding.

“What did you have in mind?” he asked. Naru grinned, showing resilience in the face of Anko’s youthful wrath.

“Let’s stage a retrieval mission. Divide into two teams and send one into the dense part of the woods. They’ll have a token to protect, that the other team is trying to steal. If they get it and get back here, they win and their mission was successful. The other team needs to incapacitate all of the attacking team in order for them to win, protecting the token the entire time,” he explained. There were a few nods given in response as all of the Chunin chewed over the idea.

“How would we split everyone up?” Asuma asked, not at all eager to be on the same team as Naru, especially when Kurenai was the obvious and far superior choice. Naru could only shrug in answer.

“I don’t really know your specialties so one of you should figure the teams out,” he decided. Anko turned her nose up at the blond and walked back to where Genma was standing as far from the excitement as possible.

“I’m not going to work together with you, so I’m claiming Genma and Guy!” she declared boldly, crossing her arms in front of her chest and pointedly ignoring Genma’s weak glare at the back of her head. Guy pumped his fists, proclaiming the majestic wonders of youth and was effortlessly ignored by everyone else present. Obito huffed, showing just as much irritation.

“Fine! Me and Rin-chan are going with Naru!” he shouted back, adopting the same stubborn gestures and leaving Asuma and Kurenai to figure out what they were going to do. Naru felt Rin’s hesitation about going along with her teammate’s wishes, but ultimately fell silent. He wondered if it was because she feared losing to the other team, or if there was somebody on the other side that she would rather not team up against. Before Asuma could convince Guy to leave his team to make room for both him and Kurenai, his not-so-secret crush made her decision.

“Let’s do this! It’ll be us heroes versus you jerks then!” Obito shouted, grinning fiercely alongside an equally as excited Naru. Rin and Kurenai exchanged polite smiles and held their ground, accepting the fact that there was no going back anymore. Neither expected to get so much excitement out of their training that day, but they weren’t about to let it pass them by.

In the other half of the clearing, Anko and Asuma both wore matching frowns, oozing with displeasure. Genma was over the whole situation, but his interest had been piqued in Naru’s unseen combat ability and Obito’s newfound confidence. Guy was preparing himself with some rapid fire push ups, excitement growing with every waking breath as the passionate spirits of their group stirred some electricity into the air.

“Alright, losers, let’s take this little _game_ somewhere more exciting then,” Anko hissed, exchanging glances with her teammates, who said nothing to stop her. They would technically be trespassing, but only if they got caught, which wasn’t enough to dull the atmosphere any. “We’ll be the keepers, but we still need a token to guard,” Anko said, thrusting her arm out and sending a white snake flying straight for Obito. Naru sensed her intentions and allowed the snake to sail by him without reacting to it. The snake’s fangs latched around the goggles perched on top of Obito’s head before retreating back to its master with little delay.

As soon as Obito realized what she had taken, they disappeared, headed off somewhere in the village that they had conveniently forgotten to name. Stamping his foot angrily, Obito made to run after them, but Rin and Naru managed to snag his arms before he could get too far.

“Wait, Obito-kun!” Rin cried, convincing him to turn back so they could devise a strategy. “If you let her rile you up, we won’t have a chance of beating them,” she said, much to Obito’s ire. Naru frowned, holding his chin while he thought.

“Before we talk strategy, can someone catch me up on everyone’s abilities? I’m a little new to the area so I have no idea what you guys are capable of. I have a few wind jutsu and I can hold my own when it comes to taijutsu,” he offered. Obito frowned in return.

“What about all the senjutsu stuff that Minato-sensei was telling us about? Can you not use it in a fight?” he asked. Naru shook his head.

“I can, but my sensei asked me not too. He thinks I’ve been a little too reliant on it lately, but don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself just fine without it,” he admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Rin and Obito both found the gesture to be reminiscent of Minato’s whenever he didn’t know how to answer one of their questions.

“That’s alright, Naru-kun, perfect actually,” Rin said with a smile. “Do you have any experience doing team missions?” Naru grimaced, shaking his head.

“My sensei and I would pick up the occasional shinobi contract so I’m really only used to fighting with a partner, rather than a whole team,” he revealed, but Rin’s calculative gaze did not waver nor did her mood dampen in the slightest.

“Kurenai-chan is great with genjutsu, I’ve got medical training and I’ve been trying to improve my taijutsu, but I have some genjutsu of my own as a backup. Obito-kun has the best ninjutsu out of the three of us, so we’ve got all of our bases covered,” she explained, laying all of their cards on the table. Obito unconsciously reached up to adjust his goggles, scowling when he remembered that they had been taken hostage.

“Rin-chan do you really think…” he hesitated, but when she gave him her full attention, he shied away from the opportunity to speak his mind. “Nevermind, does anybody have a plan?” he said, looking away, but it was clear to Naru that he was trying to shove down whatever it was he had wanted to say.

“Obito-kun is right,” Kurenai cut in, drawing Naru from his thoughts. “We need to have a plan before we go after them. Knowing Asuma-kun, he’ll butt heads with Anko-chan over everything, so at the very least, somebody is going to be flying solo in that group,” she pointed out. “His chakra is wind-natured and he likes to fight in close combat, but he has a few mid range fire jutsu that he’s been working on recently too.” Rin nodded, carrying along the same train of thought.

“Anko-chan is aggressive, but she uses her head in a fight, so I doubt she’ll come right for us,” Rin added. Naru started piecing together a plan in his head, but he was still missing some information on the other two members of the group.

“Is there anybody who would come and fight us head-on?” he asked, knowing full well that there was a young bushy-browed Chunin that certainly would in his elder years. The matching expressions of dread that went around their ragtag team confirmed his suspicion.

“Guy-kun will come right for us. The others will probably use him as a distraction to trap us while we’re fighting him,” Kurenai guessed. Naru quirked an eyebrow in interest.

“He’s strong enough to keep all of us busy at the same time?” he asked, honestly surprised that Guy had been held in such high regard as a fighter among his peers at such a young age. He had worked his whole life to earn the same kind of renown from the other villages in the Elemental Nations as an adult. Obito rolled his eyes at the question.

“The dude carrying two people on his back just to _show up_ to training? Yeah, he’s pretty strong. Guy is fast too, maybe even faster than Kakashi, that’s what makes him hard to fight against,” Obito threw out there, not exactly eager to join Guy in a bout of youthful taijutsu, or Asuma with his chakra blades, or Anko with her painful submission techniques. Genma was really the only person Obito wouldn’t have a problem fighting head to head, but even then, the lazy bastard was very precise about where he left his senbon, and he almost never missed his targets.

“Then how about this? If Guy-kun is going to be their distraction, we’ll need one of our own to keep him busy and out of the game long enough for the others to sneak in and get Obito’s goggles back,” Naru suggested. Rin gasped, an excited smile passing over her face.

“I have an idea! Naru-kun, Obito-kun, can you keep Guy-kun busy long enough for Kurenai-chan and I to set up a genjutsu? If we can get all of them focused on your battle with something big, something flashy, we’ll have a chance to catch them all in one fell swoop, then it’ll be easy to scatter them, get the goggles, and get out of there,” she decided. Kurenai quickly became lost in her own thoughts.

“The best kind of genjutsu would have to be a simple one that they won’t realize is there right away. None of them are sensory types either, so this could actually work,” she mused, nodding her head. “I’m in.” Obito and Rin exchanged nods while Naru slapped Obito’s outstretched hand, a wild grin stretching across his face.

They quickly worked out the details of their plan, and while it would be hard to pull off, it would be quite the masterpiece if everything fell into place. Before they could leave, however, Naru stopped them all to offer a few words of wisdom. “If something happens and the plan falls apart, we’ll have to regroup and try another angle. If we can’t, read the situation and work as a team. Guy-kun may have a lot of physical strength, but we have strength in numbers,” he said positively, glad to see three affirmative gestures from the young shinobi, but there was one other thing weighing on his mind.

“Hey, Obito,” Naru blurted out, catching the Uchiha’s shoulder. Obito looked up at him expectantly, suspecting he knew what it was Naru wanted to say. He wasn’t exactly comfortable with that part of the plan either, but it would give them the best shot at taking the other team by surprise later on. “If you can remember, make sure to aim a little higher than usual, alright? I’ll be fine either way though,” he offered, but Obito still didn’t feel so much relief from the other shinobi’s reassurances.

“Don’t worry, Naru-kun,” Rin said, pumping her fist. She was confident in their plan and in her teammates. “I trust Obito-kun enough to switch places with you, but we need you to do this part. We’re not going to let them win so easily.” Her expression was determined, strong, a far cry from what it had been when she hadn’t wanted to be on the same team of losers she was now rooting for.

#### The Forest of Death

“So this is where they went? You’re sure?” Naru asked skeptically, hands on his hips as he read the numerous warning signs for Training Ground 44, especially the one that said “NO TRESPASSING” in large, bold print. Obito slapped it fondly as he walked by.

“No doubt about it. Let’s go already! You’re not scared are you?” he teased, passing through the gate that had been left ajar and leaping up into the first tree. Naru followed close behind, racing after Obito to punch him. Naru was pleased to see that the forest had changed in the time that had passed between this generation and his own, it added an element of surprise to the occasion. Rin and Kurenai brought up the rear together, talking quietly to themselves. Obito was too far ahead to hear, but Naru and his sensitive ears were not.

“He seems different, Rin-chan. He’s more confident and I doubt it’s because Anko-chan took his goggles,” Kurenai said to her fellow kunoichi. Rin nodded along, having witnessed the other girl’s observation herself.

“I don’t know if it’s because Kakashi-kun isn’t here, or if it’s because he finally has someone who understands him and can give him the right motivation,” she answered, her gaze switching back and forth between Naru’s sunny blond hair and Obito’s contrasting black locks. From behind, Naru looked so much like her sensei, and from the corner of her eye, Kurenai’s slight frame could have been Kakashi, cementing the illusion and making her wonder when the last time she would get to see them all together would come. Kurenai’s feminine voice broke through the illusion and Rin stashed those thoughts away in the back of her mind.

Obito slowed his pace until he found himself running alongside Naru. There was something that had been bothering him, and he felt that he should ask before forgetting or the situation made it impossible to ask.

“Naru?” he said softly, so as not to disturb the two kunoichi running behind them. The Uzumaki acknowledged the question with a tilt of his head, turning enough to glance at Obito every now and then so he could still watch where his feet were taking him. The young Uchiha almost seemed uncomfortable about asking what was on his mind, but he forced it out without too much delay.

“Why were you staring at Anko and the others like that?” he asked. Naru lowered his head, but Obito felt relief flowing through him when he saw the blond smile. Somehow, he had been expecting some terrible, condemning confession from Naru, but seeing the happiness that filled his body was welcome instead. The canopy of branches split above them long enough to open a path of sunlight that warmed Obito’s bones and gave him confidence, unaware that it was Naru who was settling his unease.

“They all reminded me of some people I met in another village that I ended up staying in for a while when I was younger,” he finally admitted, reminding Obito that he had asked a question that required an answer. “They were quite a bit older than your friends, but I remember there was an angry one who would start a fight with every person they met,” he explained, and it was easy for Obito to picture Anko doing the same.

“Another man was constantly training to get stronger,” he said, conveying his admiration of the young Beast with his fond tone. “A guy trying to charm a girl who quietly loved every attempt, and someone who wanted to be nothing more than a bystander, but always ended up in the middle of what was going on.” Obito could easily see where the connections had been drawn. Naru’s observations did make him wonder, however, if Naru had ever met anyone like him.

“Are you worried about the plan?” Naru asked him, breaking Obito out of his thoughts and reminding him that they had a reason for trespassing in the Forest of Death. He was reluctant to admit that Naru had hit the nail on the head, but there was something about Naru that made it easy to be open and honest with him. Maybe it was the fact that the blond constantly gave off the impression of being transparent and open with his own feelings.

“Worried for you, maybe,” he finally said. Naru nodded thoughtfully before reaching over and slugging Obito hard in the arm.

“What the hell was that for?!” he yelled, only to be shushed rather harshly by the girls behind them. Obito flushed in response, glaring out of the corner of his eye at Naru, who was smiling at him.

“That was so you’d get out of your own head. You’re not going to hurt me, Obito. I believe in you, but now we’re at the point where you need to believe in yourself, got it?” he challenged, leveling the other boy with a serious gaze. Obito gulped, nodding in response.

Before long, Naru was calling for them all to stop, sensing multiple people in front of them. “If you weren’t already, it’s time to get serious, they’re close,” he whispered quietly. Obito’s face morphed with confusion.

“How can you tell? I can’t feel any of their chakra,” he pointed out. Naru turned back and grinned at him.

“I can’t actively use senjutsu but my senses have been strengthened by sage chakra and I can’t really turn them off, so I’m going to say that it doesn’t count,” he argued. Nobody on his team was going to complain either, it seemed.

“I guess those flower-powers aren’t so lame after all,” Obito muttered under his breath, unaware that Naru could hear him just fine. The blond refrained from saying anything, but a smile tugged up at the corner of his lips. They would make it out of there just fine.

The scene they found was exactly what they were expecting. Might Guy was standing in the middle of the clearing with no one else around him. Naru confirmed that they were there however, out of sight, but definitely lying in wait. Obito gasped and pointed to a tree some distance away. His goggles were hanging from a low branch on the tree, just past Guy as if the other team expected them to just go for it. In hindsight, that’s exactly what they were about to make it look like they were doing.

“Ready, Obito?” Naru asked nervously, holding his fist out to the other boy. The Uchiha nodded, knocking his fist against Naru’s.

“I’ll be right behind you, good luck,” he said, readying himself. Naru looked back at the kunoichi who both gave him a thumbs up, signalling that they were also ready. Steeling himself and releasing the breath he had been holding, Naru emerged in the clearing, matching Guy’s bold statement with his own.

“My first challenger! Are you ready for a youthful bout of combat, my friend?” Guy shouted at him, holding his left hand behind his back and stepping forward with his right stretched out, palm facing up. In response, Naru adopted his own stance, feet spread, legs bent and hands ready for Guy’s onslaught. They held their positions for a moment, but the sound of a twig being snapped in the distance spurred them into action.

Guy struck first, fast, trying to break through Naru’s defenses using his superior speed. Naru grunted as he blocked the first few punches, finding an opening to thrust out at Guy, but realizing his mistake, was caught in the side by a quick swing of Guy’s leg. The blow wasn’t the strongest when given in such close quarters, but it still hurt, forcing Naru to put some distance between them. He winced, feeling an aching pain already throbbing in his muscles where Guy’s kick had landed.

“Is that the best you can do?” Naru taunted, a smile finding his lips despite the situation. Guy grinned, adopting the same stance he had started with.

“Let’s see how passionate your youth is,” he challenged, excitement growing as he quickly analyzed their first exchange of blows. Naru was fast, but he was holding himself back. Guy resolved himself to fix that. Naru started the next series of moves, charging Guy head on and swinging, pleased to see him dodge far enough for Naru’s fist to sail harmlessly past and overbalance himself at the same time. Before Guy could retaliate, Naru’s hands found the ground and he swung his leg around at his opponent, catching him unprepared with a fluid movement that most shinobi weren’t capable of pulling off. This time, Guy was the one skidding back, having had enough time to block with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Naru flipped up onto his feet and smirked at Guy before streaming forward again. Guy felt his movements increasing in speed as he dodged around three consecutive strikes aimed at his head. He lashed out with his leg at Naru’s unprotected side, and wasn’t surprised to see him block the move. It didn’t matter, Guy used his strongest limbs for body shots for a reason. He had faced opponents who were able to match his speed, but it was far more rare to come across an opponent who could take his punishing kicks without eventually surrendering to them.

Naru was definitely feeling the pain. He knew it wasn’t smart to let himself take those hits, but Guy was catching him in the few places he had to leave open in order to make his own moves. He was fast enough to respond, but it was doing him little good besides delaying the inevitable breaking of his own arms every time he blocked with them. Naru doubted that Kadeshi would be too happy with him if he had to spend any more time in the hospital because of some reckless training.

As they continued to exchange blows, Naru began to notice Guy’s reliance on his legs for making strong attacks. Lee fought the same way, so he wasn’t totally lost when it came to Guy’s fighting style, but he had to be careful to make sure it didn’t look like he was anticipating his attacks before they even happened. It would either seem like he knew more than he let on or Guy would catch on and switch it up. From his experience sparring with Lee, it was better to know what was coming.

Off on the sides, all of the spectators were impressed with Naru’s resilience and any plans were halted just to watch his fight with Guy and see what he was capable of. Guy had worked hard to build up his stamina and yet Naru was no more winded than their exuberant teammate was. Obito watched closely, sensing that their moment was coming. He exchanged nods with Rin and Kurenai before slinking off into the undergrowth to get a better angle. As he moved he thought about what Rin had said back in the training field, about how she thought he was good with his ninjutsu.

_‘Did she really mean that?’_ he thought to himself, flinching at the sound of a body hitting the ground. Obito glanced up, not exactly in position but ready to make due with the hand they had been dealt. Luckily, it was Guy who was sprawled flat. He quickly got his feet under him again, wiping a trail of blood from his nose before leaping back into the fight. _‘I’ve never made a super successful one before… but if she believes in me, trusts in me, I can do this,’_ he reassured himself, pushing on and readying himself as much as he could.

Feeling that Obito was nearing his position, Naru ignored his gut instincts to defend and left himself wide open. Guy’s right leg met his unprotected side for the first time since they initially started, surprising the Chunin and lowering his defenses for just a moment. Naru used his hesitation to latch onto Guy’s leg with both hands, leaving him with only one foot to support himself with. The blond grinned at him, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but Guy’s grin was fiercer still, shaking Naru’s confidence.

Guy picked his other leg off the ground, wrapping it around Naru and forcing him to stumble as he was suddenly bearing all of his opponent’s weight. He drew back and landed a few quick strikes on his face, making Naru stumble again, but he still wouldn’t let go, holding fast. Leaning backwards with a roar, he used his weight to pitch Naru in his direction. As they were falling, Guy planted his hands on the ground and swung Naru over his head and straight into the dirt. Guy ended up on top of the blond as the air evacuated from his lungs, forcing him to cough and gasp in shuddering breaths to replace what had been lost.

Guy fisted the front of his shirt and drew his other fist back, leaving the threat hanging there between them as Naru finally regained his bearings. His arms were effectively pinned underneath Guy’s legs, enforcing the submission. Naru couldn’t help but laugh, a few coughs interrupting his attempt.

Genma and Anko prepared themselves to move as soon as Guy and Asuma finished with Naru. Taking the only unknown player off the table would leave them in a four-on-three match against two people who weren’t very reliable as frontline fighters and the only Uchiha in existence to suffer from a lack of self-confidence. It would be an easy victory for them, a quick and merciful defeat for the other team. That was their plan.

“They told me you were good,” Naru wheezed, bringing a smile to Guy’s face. “Any way I can convince you to let me up?” he asked. Guy chuckled heartily but shook his head.

“Not a chance, but the power of your youth is certainly admirable,” he grinned. “Asuma-kun! I’ve got him!” Asuma appeared at the edge of the treeline, ready with some ninja wire to bind Naru’s hands and take him out of the game. Naru grimaced, well aware of what was coming next, but it soon became clear that he wasn’t making that face because of Asuma.

“ _Water Style: Water Beast Jutsu!_ ” Rin shouted from her hiding place, right as a stream of water surged out of the trees, taking the form of a hulking monster that took a few wobbly steps forward before collapsing and drenching Guy and Naru, who were out in the open. Asuma braced himself for the flood that followed, soaking him from the waist down. He was immediately on his guard listening to Naru’s muffled cursing and wrongly assuming that their plan had fallen to pieces.

“Forcing Rin-chan to use a strong jutsu like that with her measly reserves? I hope your grand plan wasn’t hinged on that sad excuse of a water jutsu,” Asuma said loud enough for everyone to hear him. Anko used the commotion to sneak around the clearing, in the direction of where the water jutsu had originated from. Her expertise lied in seeing while not being seen, and she was steadily creeping towards her first target, unaware that she was not the only hunter in the area.

_‘I can do this! I’m not a failure! If I was, Rin-chan wouldn’t believe in me and Naru wouldn’t be depending on me!’_ Obito thought as he began forming seals, chakra gathering in his lungs. Movement to Asuma’s left drew his attention just in time to see the end of Obito’s series of hand seals, immediately accompanied by a deep intake of breath. Asuma’s eyes widened and he turned to run, grabbing Guy’s arm in the process to pull him along. His wind jutsu would do him no good at the moment as it would likely only make the coming attack even stronger.

“ _Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_ ” Obito shouted, sending a sizable ball of fire shooting through the clearing, right over the top of Naru. The Uzumaki was suddenly thankful that Guy had slammed him into the ground hard enough to leave an indentation that brought him a centimeter or two lower than he would have been on perfectly flat terrain. That distance probably saved his eyebrows from annihilation. As it was, the majority of the water weighing down his clothes and sitting in his hair was evaporated because of the fireball’s close proximity. Naru couldn’t help himself from whistling as it passed overhead.

The jutsu was perfectly cast and perfect for their plan, kicking up large clouds of steam as the water sitting on top of the ground evaporated. Anko was poorly positioned to miss the steam flowing over her, but she wasn’t about to relocate when she could feel how close she was to her target, choosing to bear with the heat. She ducked, covering her face long enough for the worst of it to pass, her eyes finding those still in the clearing immediately after, just to make sure that everyone was accounted for.

Guy looked over his shoulder to see the fireball still chasing them through the gathering mist. Without warning, he grabbed Asuma and changed directions quickly, ducking to the side and moving out of the path of destruction left behind by the jutsu. Guy wrapped himself around Asuma as they rolled, having been hit with more water and being better protected from the heat of Obito’s jutsu. Naru was proud of Guy’s protective instincts, present even as a young shinobi.

_‘Are these idiots trying to get all of us caught?’_ Genma thought to himself, realizing that the possibility of them getting caught trespassing in the Forest of Death was still very real without the exaggerated display of ninjutsu. Genma also preferred that they keep burning half the forest off their list of accumulated grievances when everything fell apart. And so, despite his strategic placement in the trees, he appeared in front of the Uchiha’s jutsu. He had to hand it to Obito, the fireball was perfect in every way, and strong to boot, but he had to stop it.

_“Earth style: Earth-wall jutsu!”_ he cried, forming the right seals and slamming his hands on the ground, producing a wide barrier, as thick as he could make it, to disperse the flames before they could blow up the trees behind him. Thus, his cover was blown, and a significant portion of his chakra was spent, but Obito had blown his own cover as well, leaving only the Kunoichi on the sidelines to wait and bide their time. Rin hadn’t come out either, which meant that she had more than likely relocated after using all her chakra up on a failed water jutsu. If she hadn’t, then it likely meant that Anko had her.

“That was close,” Naru pointed out, accepting Obito’s offered hand and letting the other boy haul him up onto his feet. “And hot,” he added, but Obito was thrumming with adrenaline, utterly astonished that he had managed to make such a big fireball for the first time in his life. He couldn’t wait to show his sensei.

“Oh now you’ve done it,” Asuma growled, detaching himself from Guy, who had a few singed hairs on his head, but was largely uninjured. Drawing his chakra blades, Obito and Naru quickly regrouped. They had successfully drawn out Genma at the very least, which was all they needed to proceed with the plan.

“You ready, Obito? They’re coming!” Naru said, facing off against both Guy and Asuma this time. Obito’s back met his as he squared off against Genma, who had evidently decided that he was done hiding. Obito drew a kunai, seeing the subtle flashes of steel senbon needles in Genma’s hands.

Guy and Asuma attacked at the same time, but Asuma drifted too far into Guy’s range, forcing the other Chunin to stop mid-attack to avoid hitting Asuma. Naru dodged Asuma’s flurry of slashes, not having any weapons of his own to defend himself with. Guy was searching for an opening, trying to work together with Asuma, but the young Sarutobi was too angry to do anything but swing aimlessly at Naru’s head.

“Asuma-kun! You’re being too reckless! We need to work together!” Guy shouted at his back as Naru pushed him into Guy with a well-placed kick. Naru leapt at them, but overshot, his fist burying itself in the ground while the other two were unharmed and regrouping behind him. Naru pulled his hand out just in time to block Asuma again and shove him in front of Guy’s assault, once again forcing the budding taijutsu expert to halt his stream of attacks.

“Obito! We need to move!” Naru shouted desperately, counting down the seconds in his head. The precious seconds that they had before the exploding tag he had stashed deep in the ground could detonate. Obito nodded, springing away from Genma and appearing at Naru’s side. Genma hung back, suspecting another plan unfolding right in front of him, but the feeling was lost on Guy and Asuma, who were way too invested in the fight. Both rushed to attack, coordinating their movements perfectly this time, but it was all for naught. The ground under their feet vibrated briefly and a huge cloud of dust erupted around the four of them. 

“Konoha Whirlwind!” Guy cried, swinging his leg with all his might at the blob with blond hair that was emerging from the dust. From the other side, Asuma surged forward with his chakra blades, ignoring the dust that got in his eyes and made it hard for him to see. His one goal was to knock Naru flat. Against all odds, Guy’s foot was caught unexpectedly, and Asuma’s wrist was trapped in a vice grip. The cloud was lifting and both Chunin realized their mistake. Genma’s eyes widened considerably and Anko choked down the gasp that fought to expose her position.

That blond head of hair hadn’t been Naru’s after all, and Minato wasn’t too happy to have been attacked immediately after reaching the epicenter of the commotion in the Forest of Death. His eyes narrowed on Guy first, silently daring the young shinobi to try and attack him again. The Chunin gulped, grateful that Minato was feeling kind enough to release his leg rather than make him stand in such an awkward position for the dressing-down that was sure to come. When his frosty eyes turned to Asuma, the boy’s response was largely the same.

“Were the signs at the gate hard to read?” Minato asked sternly, turning to pin every single Chunin, even the hidden ones, with an angry glare. Crossing his arms over his chest, it was clear that the man was pissed. “All of you, get out here, now!” he barked. Anko hesitated long enough to receive the full weight of Minato’s angry presence bearing down on her. She joined the others reluctantly after that, but something about the situation felt wrong to her.

Kurenai and Rin also emerged from their hiding spots, dangerously close to Anko, with their eyes angled towards the ground. Both looked embarrassed at getting caught by the one sensei that they all shared a fair amount of respect for.

_‘Wait a minute, where are the other two losers?’_ Anko thought quickly, scanning the area before she finally spotted them. The rest of the dust cloud dispersed along the ground, revealing a winded Obito struggling to remain standing in front of his sensei, rubbing at his eyes. His whole body flinched, a clear indication that he knew Minato was throwing daggers with his eyes. Next to him, Naru was on his hands and knees with his head lowered, bruised and breathing heavily from a combination of fighting Guy twice and nearly getting himself roasted, no doubt. With nothing left to convince her of the suspicious situation besides her instincts, Anko surrendered the rest of the fight that was left in her bones.

“Does anyone have an explanation?” Minato thundered, making all of the Chunin flinch that time. Obito surprised him by speaking up first, despite the trouble he was having on the breathing front.

“It’s my fault, sensei. I suggested we come here to fight because I was angry and upset. I even lost my goggles because of my carelessness,” he admitted sheepishly, trying to point at the tree that they had been hung on, but clearly indicating the wrong one because of his poor eyesight. Minato sighed, laying a gentle hand on Obito’s back and guiding him over to the right tree while he couldn’t see well enough to walk there himself. Retrieving the goggles, Minato handed them to Obito before releasing all of his accumulated irritation with a strong sigh.

“Sensei, it was my fault too,” Rin claimed loudly, surprising Minato even more than he already had been. “I didn’t even try to stop anyone from coming here even though I knew it wasn’t a good idea,” she confessed. Kurenai stepped up next to her, holding her ground despite seeing the tremors that were shaking Rin’s whole body from her lack of chakra. Minato observed the attempt at a united front being made by his two students and Kurenai, who presumably got dragged into the whole mess. Minato was well aware that there was more at play, seeing the way Asuma and Anko were refusing to look at him.

“While I appreciate your initiative to train in a more intense setting, I’ve been watching you long enough to be disappointed at the lack of restraint shown by some of you. While you are in this village, you are among comrades. When you allow your tempers to get the better of you, it is easy to forget that we are all fighting for the same team. Training is over for today, go home, all of you, and stay out of this forest,” he ordered sternly. “I don’t want to catch any of you trespassing again. My team and Kurenai-chan, stay please, I would like a word,” he demanded, before everyone could scatter.

The other four exchanged glances before begrudgingly making for the village. Asuma tried to look back at Kurenai, wishing to express his apologies for acting so rashly, but she wouldn’t even look up at him. Right as he was about to accept her rejection, he saw Rin wince, stumbling a bit right next to her. Kurenai didn’t budge an inch, making Asuma’s eyes narrow. With a quiet signal to the other three walking around him, he gestured back towards the clearing. At first, Guy and Genma were hesitant to return and incur more of Minato’s wrath, but something about the way Asuma was moving convinced them to take the chance.

Anko’s team had a good head start back to the village by the time Rin collapsed to her knees, releasing the genjutsu with a sigh of relief, a grin splitting her face. The Kurenai standing next to her faded into nothing and the struggling Naru sat back on the ground, a puff of smoke revealing him to be Kurenai in a henge. Obito slid his goggles back over his eyes with a grin of his own. Minato’s stern face melted away to reveal Naru, who was shaking with leftover adrenaline.

“Can you two still run? We’ve got to get back to the training field before they realize we pulled a fast one on them,” Naru said, helping her up as Obito went to help Rin.

“I can’t believe that worked!” Obito cheered, jumping up and down excitedly. Rin shushed him frantically.

“Be quiet, Obito-kun! We’re not in the clear just yet! We have to hurry and leave!” she said, but it was too late. A line of kunai fell in their path right as they all turned to leave. A stray weapon was flung close enough to skim Naru’s face as he made every effort to dodge it, drawing a thin line of blood. Anko and her team hadn’t been entirely convinced after all. None of them looked particularly happy to have been tricked so easily in the first place.

“I knew you were up to something!” she hissed, seething. “I hope you’re ready for us to bring the fight to you this time,” she warned. Before another word could be spoken, she launched herself out of the tree, barreling straight for Obito. Naru cursed his failure to notice them approaching, distracted by his own pride at pulling off such an outrageous plan. Now they were going to have to find a new way to get out of the Forest of Death, because the same plan wasn’t going to work again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a few weeks since my last post so I wanted to write a longer chapter for all of you, and it just so happens that this was the perfect scene to have some fun with. I hope you enjoyed it!


	17. The Right Path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

Minato glanced up from his spot at Kakashi’s side. They had moved him to a couch that was more comfortable than the tabletop he had been thrown on in their hurry to settle him. He noted that Kadeshi was still staring into space. Earlier, he had been wandering around the room, distracted, arranging books on the shelves in different orders. He made an attempt to adjust the furniture as well, but stopped himself with a quiet grunt and returned to his chair across the room from Minato and Kakashi.

“Is everything alright, Kadeshi-san?” he eventually asked, unable to sit and wait through the silence for a moment longer. Besides, there was clearly something wrong with the way that Kadeshi moved about the room. The elder Hatake started at the sound of Minato’s voice and the Jonin realized that he was incredibly stiff, which had been making his movements jerkier than normal. Kadeshi had certainly lost the fluid ease of his usual lazy demeanor.

“Excuse me, Minato-san, but there’s something I wanted to ask you,” he admitted, picking at a loose thread on the hem of his shirt. After a few seconds of this, Kadeshi’s hand twitched noticeably and he stopped, resting it on his leg instead. Minato could see that he was bothered by something, but not something that he felt overly endangered over, seeing as he let his bubbly pupil walk out the front door nearly half an hour earlier and had yet to give chase. Whatever was on his mind was making him anxious, however.

“Kurenai-chan, duck!” Naru shouted, grabbing her shoulder and pushing her enough to miss the shuriken being flung past her head. He was quick to follow up and slice through the near invisible wires that would have tied one or both of them to the closest trees. Their team had been split up, he and Kurenai racing along the ground while Rin and Obito leapt through the trees above them. The other team had divided them effortlessly as soon as the chase had been started. 

_ ‘Get a grip!’ _ Kadeshi thought, trying to control his racing thoughts and the memories that were resurfacing even though he was pretty sure that he had tied them to some cinder blocks and sank them into the deepest corners of his mind.  _ ‘You’re fine. There’s nothing wrong. You’ve already been into the study. There’s nothing here that can hurt you, aside from yourself.’ _ He started rubbing his right hand aimlessly up and down his thigh, too distracted to notice and clamp down on the tick.

“Did you get a chance to go through the entire house?” Minato asked him, figuring not since he and Kakashi had arrived fairly early in the morning. He was also trying to get the man talking, seeing as his companion was still fighting an internal battle with himself over something. Kadeshi was once again broken out of his thoughts and stopped rubbing when he realized the palm of his hand was warmed from the friction he had been applying to it.

“No, I suppose I didn’t, but I saw enough of it,” he drawled, sliding his hand down his face with another sigh. “Be honest with me, did he die in this house, Minato-san?” Kadeshi asked bluntly, seeking an outlet for some of his leftover anxiety. Minato blinked in surprise, realizing that the Hatake had gotten minimal details on the circumstance of his brother’s death. In hindsight, it might not have been the best idea to send him to live in the same house that Sakumo had ended his life in. Kadeshi’s character was an outstanding contrast of Kakashi’s and even Sakumo’s, but he was still a Hatake. They should have known that he would realize eventually. Exhibiting emotion was a logical response to the truth and Minato scolded himself for not considering Sakumo as its origin.

“He did, yes. I apologize, Kadeshi-san, I should have said something before you agreed to live here. I’m sure that we can make other arrangements if you are troubled,” Minato said, trying to reassure him. He did not like seeing Kadeshi look and act like a nervous rabbit. It felt wrong in every way. Kadeshi surprised him, however, when he denied.

“No, Minato-san. I will be alright,” he said, and Minato found something in Kadeshi’s declaration that helped him believe in his words. “There is definitely a strange aura, as Naru would describe it, that has settled over this house, likely the same thing that drives Kakashi away from it, but it can be defeated. Will you tell me about what happened? Everything that happened leading up to his death, and what came after? Knowing Sakumo, it must have taken a lot to drive him towards death, and I suspect that Konoha paid a dear price for losing someone of his strength.”

Minato was not surprised that Kadeshi wanted to know everything, and he dredged up his own memories of those days and of the reports that had been filed. Kakashi had been at the epicenter of the incident, and as his sensei, and the only adult left in his life, so had Minato.

“Watch for Anko-chan’s summo-!” Rin’s warning was cut off as a snake latched onto her ankle, sending her stumbling. She landed hard and slipped, falling from high up in the treetops. Obito backpedalled fast, trying to catch her before she could fall. Genma blocked his way with a few well-placed senbon, reminding him that he needed to keep running.

Guy surged up from the ground to capture Rin, but Naru’s leg met his side without any hesitation, sending him careening into a hard trunk. The force of the impact left him stunned long enough for Naru to grab their medic and get his feet under him. He sprang forwards to catch up with Kurenai, but a horde of snakes emerged from the underbrush, ready to intercept him.

Kadeshi relived his own memories of those days as Minato recounted them, but they were given a new twist with Minato’s perspective. He was going to hear every last bit of it and he was going to be strong. He didn’t have anything to distract him from the truth and Minato certainly didn’t give him the abridged version of his father’s death.

As he talked, Minato watched Kadeshi’s rigid posture soften, as if giving way to a heavy burden. He never interrupted, glancing around the room or down at Kakashi on occasion, but he did not fidget or stop listening even once, drinking in every word that left his mouth. When they reached the end, Kadeshi had a strange smile on his face. It was one that Minato couldn’t decipher.

“I always knew Sakumo was a selfish bastard,” he said, surprising Minato and leaving him with more disappointment than anything else upon hearing the admission. Maybe he had hoped that one of Kakashi’s relatives would have been able to coax him out of the fortress he had made for himself, but it seemed to be impossible. Kadeshi surprised him even more with what he said next.

“He left before I could even say goodbye. He chose to walk a lonely path, but in the end the choice was still his to make.” Kadeshi stood from his chair and wandered over to the bookshelves he had been disturbing earlier. He paused, hand outstretched, ready to run deft fingers over the many titles as he looked back at Minato. “Kakashi hasn’t forgiven him yet, has he?” he asked. Minato gave him an answer though he knew it wasn’t necessary.

“Did you ever talk with him about what happened?” Kadeshi asked quietly after Minato rose to join him, both sensing that the coming conversation was not one to be taken lightly. That question was noticeably harder for the Jonin to answer, but Kadeshi would not settle without one.

“He made it clear to me that he would not go and see a therapist unless I carried him there and held him against his will. I figured that wouldn’t make the situation any better so I never forced him,” Minato answered honestly. Kadeshi shook his head, closing his fist and thumping it lightly against the wall of books.

“Did  _ you  _ ever talk with him about it, Minato-san?” he clarified, facing Minato. “You are his sensei, and he respects you,” Kadeshi pointed out as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Minato opened and closed his mouth, but nothing came out at first.

“I don’t know that it’s my place,” he tried lamely, but Kadeshi fixed him with a hard stare that stopped his weak protests in their tracks.

“Who else’s place could it be? When was the last time you saw that boy smile, Minato?” Kadeshi asked him with his hand perched on his hip. He was past the point of using honorifics and remaining polite as he worked to expose some of Minato’s guilt. The blond would have to struggle harder than he was to escape from Kadeshi. “He is cold, mechanical even, but he is still a boy and I see that you care for him. If there is anybody alive who can help him before he is too far gone, it is you, Minato-san, not me,” he urged. Minato’s temper flared.

“I am not going to force him to relive that day! He is more fragile than you realize,” Minato argued in a hushed tone, taking a quick step closer to convey his seriousness rather than raising his voice while Kakashi slept on. Kadeshi had no problem matching him, fully invading Minato’s personal space after the blond had trodden on the edge of his own. His body was slow and his motions controlled, a display of restraint to contrast Minato’s hot emotions.

“He is fragile, indeed, on that point we agree. However,” and here, Kadeshi’s tone grew harsher, colder. “If given the chance, would he save his teammates or complete the mission and lose them? Sakumo knew the right choice, and that morality was his strength. Do you really think that Kakashi believes the same? His beliefs will lead him to the same path that his father died on, I can assure you of that,” he bit out.

“Naru, look out!” Kurenai shouted, tossing a smoke bomb in the middle of the snakes to disorient them and hide their next move. Naru plowed into the smoke and flung himself out the other side of the billowing cloud with Rin still tucked against his chest. Emerging out of the smoke behind him, Asuma appeared like a predator about to catch its prey. Obito threw a paper bomb wrapped around a kunai over his shoulder to distract Genma and Anko long enough to join his companions below.

Genma pinned the kunai to another tree with a few well-placed senbon and it exploded harmlessly as they dodged past it. Up ahead, Obito cursed, but he saw his only chance as the two Chunin closed the distance between them. Instead of dodging around the young bough that appeared in front of him, he barreled straight into it with as much force as he could muster. The limb bent against his weight, pushing in the direction that Obito wanted it to go.

“This is going to hurt, I’m sorry” the Uchiha whispered to nobody in particular before closing his eyes and rolling over the top of the bough, feeling it snap back into its proper position. As he fell to the ground, careful to avoid tree limbs, he watched Anko, who was a step behind Genma in terms of placement. They both saw the limb whipping towards them and in the blink of an eye, Anko fisted the back of her teammate’s shirt and pulled him out of the way right as the bough smacked into her.

_ “Anko!” _ Genma cried, unable to help his teammate and his friend as she plummeted towards the ground. The sudden change in direction, mixed with the force of the impact knocked Anko unconscious, leaving her with no choice but to fall.

Minato’s expression soured at Kadeshi’s accusations. “You know nothing about what you’re trying to lecture me about! You and I weren’t there and I am not willing to force Kakashi to talk to anybody about his father,” he hissed in retaliation. Kadeshi made to fire back at him, but a soft groan from the couch drew them both out of their heated argument. Kakashi was waking up, and Minato tried to squeeze in the last word. “You do not understand Kakashi-kun like I do, Kadeshi-san. He has been on his own for a while now, and he has done little in the way of forming strong relationships with the people around him. I appreciate your concern, but he is still my student, and I will not let him drive himself to ruin,” he swore, but Kadeshi knew better.

“He needs an outlet, Minato-san. Killing the enemy is not it. Besides, I know him better than you think,” he said quietly. “After all, I traveled the same path that he thinks he is confined to.” Before Minato could say anything, a soft voice called out from the couch.

“M-Minato-sensei?... Where… am I?” Kakashi asked weakly, sitting up and holding a hand to his forehead, trying to clear away the last of his drowsiness. Minato quickly made himself available, helping to steady Kakashi while he was still trying to wake up.

“It’s alright, Kakashi-kun, I’m right here. Don’t worry,” he mumbled softly. Kakashi sat up fully, eyes glancing around the room before they alighted on Kadeshi. His memories came flooding back and the breath caught in his throat. Minato cursed to himself, hoping that his student was not about to relapse on him and pass out again. Kadeshi’s sharp words were still ringing in his ears and he was not eager to have any more alone time with the other man at that point.

“What happened?” Kakashi asked, taking a deep, shuddering breath to calm himself before his senses could trick him into panicking again. He felt strangely at ease, more so than he ever had been while in his childhood home, at least. It was as if crossing the threshold, even if he hadn’t really been conscious to do it himself, had broken through the illusion that his mind brought back to life every time he tried to climb the front steps.

“You had a panic attack and we had Naru ease your mind so you could fall asleep. It’s been roughly an hour since then, and-” Minato started gently, trying not to spook the young shinobi, but Kadeshi butted in rather obnoxiously.

“It’s been an hour and your sensei and I are exhausted from trying to fend off Sakumo’s ghost for so long. Think you can take a turn and give us a little break?” he said with a lazy yawn, stretching his arm over his head and wincing when he pulled a little too far. Minato was at a loss for words at Kadeshi’s lack of sensitivity. Kakashi was not.

“Wh-What the hell are you talking about?!” he hissed, looking between his own sensei and Kadeshi before turning to glance behind him. The smell of blood was creeping into his nose again and he reflexively covered it with his hand even though he was still wearing his mask. Kadeshi plopped himself in his chair and let out a long sigh, ignoring the soreness of his muscles from Naru’s delightful physical therapy sessions.

“Seriously, Kakashi, Sakumo’s going to bust in that door any minute now and I really could use a nap,” he prodded again, drawing a response from the boy’s sensei this time.

“What are you doing? This is not the time for petty jokes just because you’re feeling cross with me, Kadeshi-san,” Minato bit out. Kadeshi held up his hand in surrender, and Kakashi could only glance between the two, confused. He was briefly distracted by the breeze that was blowing fresh air into the estate. Kakashi half-heartedly noted that the house hadn’t felt so alive since the day his father died.

“Joke? You’re right, this is no time for jokes, Minato-san. I guess you’ll have to take him this round by yourself, Kakashi really doesn’t seem keen on helping out any,” Kadeshi threw in. Minato bristled, ready to storm out and leave the insensitive bastard behind, but Kakashi’s reaction threw him for a loop.

“My father’s ghost isn’t here, you buffoon,” the young Hatake growled, finding a familiar anger bubbling up inside of him. “How dare you try and use him to catch me off guard!” Had he been paying more attention, Kakashi would have noticed the smirk that tugged at his Uncle’s lips for the briefest of moments before disappearing. He rose from his seat, more serious than ever.

“You’re exactly right, Kakashi. Sakumo isn’t here, so what is it that you  _ are  _ afraid of?” he said, challenging the boy and advancing on him. Predictably, Minato barred his way and gathered what remained of his patience to end the man’s brief tirade.

“Please stop this, Kadeshi-san. Kakashi-kun has had a rough morning as it is. If you’ll agree to leave the conversation be, you are still welcome to join us,” he offered stiffly, mostly for the sake of being polite but still with far less open emotion than he had been showing earlier. Kadeshi was beginning to worry that Minato had lost his professional touch when he was so easily able to goad him into losing his controlled tone. With that final ultimatum, he relented.

“I apologize for causing you any undue duress, Kakashi. You as well, Minato-san,” he added, bowing to the both of them before heading for the front of the house where they had left all of their new clothes and shinobi gear. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be back in a few.” With that, he was gone, leaving Minato and Kakashi alone.

“ _ Anko! _ Wake up!” Genma shouted, springing after his young friend, though he knew that he would never make it. On the ground below them, everyone else heard the cry of panic, but the smoke and debris falling from the trees worked against them. The game was no longer relevant, but nobody could see Anko through the haze. Asuma halted his attack while Naru quickly tipped Rin on her feet and activated his sage mode to enhance his senses. His eyes widened in surprise at what he couldn’t see but could very clearly feel.

“ _ Wind Style: Dust Storm Jutsu! _ ” Asuma yelled, using his chakra to stir up the air and blow the smoke out of the area. He fought to control his jutsu so that the wind would fly harmlessly past the other shinobi rather than burning them with hot ashes. Kurenai gasped, spotting their friend right as she crashed head-first into the ground.

_ “Anko-chan!” _

“Kakashi-kun, are you alright?” Minato asked, not wasting a moment of their private time though it was entirely unnecessary. Kakashi wasn’t too clear on what his sensei had seen him do as they first made it to the house, but knowing himself and his nightmares, it hadn’t been pretty. He swallowed the lump that was rising in his throat.

“I’m fine, sensei,” he said, believing that it was the truth but also knowing that it was a lie. He was fine enough to perform efficiently as a loyal, dependable shinobi for the sake of his village, but there was one question that was starting to wear away at his mind. Minato didn’t buy that he wasn’t troubled by anything that had just happened, but he also let the discussion be. Kakashi figured that he was trying not to upset him by being too direct with his prying and at the end of the day he was grateful. He would rather forget about the whole awkward ordeal and move on with his life. The sooner he could leave, the better.

“I’ll be waiting outside, sensei,” Kakashi muttered, taking the situation into his own hands. He left in a hurry and Minato was not at all surprised to see him go. After a few more awkward minutes of standing by himself, Kadeshi reemerged from wherever he had disappeared to. Evidently, he wasn’t surprised to see that Kakashi had left either, making Minato wonder if Kadeshi had been telling the truth when he claimed to have once traveled the same path as Kakashi. He wondered what had happened to derail him from that path.

“Anko-chan! Anko-chan!” Rin cried as they all rushed to where she had fallen. Genma had landed safely on the ground and briefly wondered where Obito had disappeared to. He hoped the Uchiha hadn’t kept running, unaware of what he had inadvertently caused. Rin’s shocked gasp and the following noises of surprise from the rest of the group drew him out of his thoughts long enough to lift bitter eyes and see the crumpled remains of one of his friends.

Only, Anko was safe. She wasn’t twisted and broken into horrific angles. She was unconscious and breathing steadily in Obito’s arms. He, on the other hand, was panting heavily, holding her close to his chest as he tried to calm down and reassure himself that she was alright. That he hadn’t killed one of his friends. His body had moved so fast, his eyes telling him exactly where he needed to be. That still hadn’t stopped him from plowing a furrow in the ground in his haste to put himself between Anko and her approaching death.

“Is that…” Guy started, but even he trailed off as he continued to take in what exactly had happened. Rin approached him slowly, kneeling and tugging gently on his arms so Obito would release Anko into her care. Naru approached after, clapping the young Uchiha on the shoulder and meeting his red eyes without fear, or hesitation.

“You made it in time, she’ll be alright,” Naru said, reassuring him despite feeling butterflies in his own stomach. He could tell that it was what Obito needed to hear. With his sage mode he could feel that all of them were uneasy now. The game was over. It shouldn’t have been allowed to keep going once they started flirting the line between friendly and serious. Naru knew he should have seen imminent danger fast approaching, but he hadn’t done anything to stop them. He couldn’t help but feel responsible.

“Obito,” Genma muttered quietly as the boys of the group all approached him. Kurenai was helping Rin look over Anko with what little knowledge she had. The others were out of their league and wanted to give the girls some space so they ended up gravitating towards Obito and Naru. They were looking at him differently, and it pained Obito to see the uncertainty on their faces. He knew why. It was no secret why they would be tiptoeing around him.

He had always wondered if the Sharingan looked evil because they were wielded by Uchiha that were unforgiving at the best of times and downright cruel at the worst. The hatred must have bled into them based on the nature of the wearer. He considered himself neither hateful nor filled with spite, but his Sharingan must have looked the same as everyone else’s because he was scaring his friends with his cursed eyes.

Genma walked closer to him and balled a fist to slug the young Uchiha hard in the shoulder. Obito saw it coming but cast his eyes down and let it happen, feeling that he deserved the pain for putting Anko in so much danger.

“Obito, you dumbass, watch where you’re throwing those trees. They hurt, you know,” he said with no small amount of relief overpowering the humor in his voice. Obito’s eyes widened and he looked up in surprise at all of their smiling faces. He inadvertently gave each of them a good view of his Sharingan with one black tomoe nestled in each crimson iris.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen one this close before,” Guy muttered conversationally, leaning in closer to really see the prized Dojutsu of the Uchiha clan. Asuma followed his lead, rubbing his chin with one hand and shrugging after a moment.

“Yeah I guess they look pretty cool,” he said dismissively, waving his hand and pretending like he wasn’t impressed. Obito couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had expected scorn and anger for being so reckless and hurting Anko, or even trepidation for now wielding such a fearsome power. Instead, what he received was almost comforting. Naru smiled, taking pride in the unbreakable bond that was inevitably formed between Konoha shinobi, a bond that would only grow stronger with time.

Kadeshi entered the room wearing dark pants and a dark chest plate, the same model as most standard ANBU operatives wore. He had kept the bandana that covered his scarred eye and adjusted the Rock tanto where it rested horizontally at the small of his back. Minato could not stop his eyes from wandering over to the severed stump that had once been Kadeshi’s left arm, taking in the scar tissue that was undoubtedly still tender and weak. Kadeshi noticed the other man’s staring and rubbed his left shoulder, a tad self conscious about the attention he was receiving for it.

“Are you sure you want to train today?” Minato asked, feeling it was his duty to ensure the elder Hatake didn’t befall any unnecessary harm. Naru had ultimately left his teacher in his care, it would be rather rude of him to return to find that his sensei had wound up right back in the hospital. Kadeshi had resolved himself, however, having already taken stock of his body’s functionality.

“I’ll be fine, Minato-san. Besides, with the way Naru and those nurses have been trying to feed me, I’ll start putting on too much weight if I don’t do something besides sit on my butt all day long,” he admitted, prodding his thighs which were certainly less firm than he remembered them being. The lightness of his answer seemed to catch Minato off guard, and he had indeed noticed that Kadeshi had gained a little weight since their first encounter with him. Evidently he had believed that Kadeshi would be bitter with him for their earlier argument, but everything in the man’s tone and the way he carried himself led Minato to believe that nothing had happened.

“Alright then, let’s go,” he said with a nod, taking notice of Kadeshi’s not-so-discreet glance around the room before they left. The man looked sad as he did so, but Minato did not have the leisure at that moment to decipher why. The look was gone as soon as it came, and with its departure, Kadeshi found himself at peace again, baffling Minato. He had asked Kadeshi to drop the subject of Kakashi’s father, and he appeared to have done just that without any hesitation or lingering bitterness. For Minato himself to continue to sulk and be in a poor mood would only set a bad example for Kakashi and make himself feel childish.

That train of thought encouraged Minato to meet Kadeshi’s hard eye and give him a nod, testing the waters to see if they were, in fact, straight for the time being. He knew that Kadeshi’s intentions for Kakashi were good, but his heart couldn’t bear to see his student suffer any more than he already had. He briefly wondered how many more arguments he and the elder Hatake would have about Kakashi in the future. Kadeshi returned the gesture with a smile and peace was restored between them. Minato breathed out a sigh of relief, well aware that two feuding senseis would only encourage trouble between their students.

Meeting Kakashi on the street outside, Kadeshi ignored his staring and chose to walk at Minato’s side, rather than trailing behind like an outsider getting a tour of the village as he had done previously. This left Kakashi following behind the both of them. When he glanced up apprehensively, Kakashi expected his mind to play more tricks on him, telling him his father was still living and breathing. He was surprised to find that Kadeshi looked nothing like his father from the back. It really was his face and even his voice that solidified the illusion, but the way he walked and slouched so lazily was nothing like Sakumo. Kakashi found that he could appreciate those subtle differences in their behavior.

“Hey! Anko-chan’s awake!” Rin shouted, stirring the boys into motion as they crowded around Rin and Kurenai to make sure Anko was alright. She sat up with a groan, holding her stomach where the tree had thwacked her. She was momentarily surprised to see everyone crowded around her, minus one face.

“What happened? Where’s the loser?” she asked blearily, still trying to regain her bearings. Genma gently touched her shoulder and took the lead with the explanations, having seen most of the events as they unfolded.

“Obito knocked you out with that tree and you were falling but none of us could see you once you dropped into the smoke cloud,” he started, glancing over his shoulder at the shy Uchiha who was starting to feel uneasy again. He hadn’t deactivated his Sharingan either, which made Naru wonder how long he would last with it sapping his strength. “Obito was the only one who could see and he caught you before you hit the ground.” Anko’s eyes widened at the truth of how close her life had been to ending without her being able to do anything about it.

She latched onto Genma’s shoulder and Rin’s, only because she was standing on her other side, and hauled herself to her feet. Guy was there to steady her when she wobbled, but Anko was determined and finally spotted Obito standing just away from the rest of them. Stalking forward to meet him, she fisted the front of his shirt and shook him until he looked into her eyes with his newly awoken Sharingan. Upon seeing them, Anko loosened her hold on him and smirked.

“It’s about damn time you caught up with the rest of us, Obito. We were beginning to worry,” she said, far less mean than she had put on the impression of being. She didn’t say anything about the tree, but she didn’t thank him for saving her, either. Obito figured they cancelled each other out, and for that, he was grateful.

When the uncomfortably silent party of three reached the designated joint-team training fields, all were surprised to find them empty. Minato rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as he tried to figure out where else they could have gone. His senses told them that none of his students, or their frequent training friends, were nearby. Kadeshi confirmed that he could not feel Naru in the vicinity, either.

Kakashi glanced around the field, wandering over to a flattened section of the grass and noticing subtle signs of a four-person team heading elsewhere in the village. “They probably went somewhere to train. They left a trail here that should be easy enough to follow, but it’s up to you, sensei,” Kakashi called to Minato. Both he and Kadeshi observed the traces of the Chunin that had been present at some point in the area.

“How good are you at tracking, Kakashi?” his Uncle asked him, well aware that he was plenty adept in the area even at that age. Kakashi’s scoff confirmed his guess.

“I’m the best out of my graduating class, but even Obito could follow this trail,” he said haughtily. Minato sighed, displeased with his student’s disdainful attitude, which never seemed to be absent for very long. At least he had tempered his bitterness with a less-scathing compliment about one of his teammates, even if said teammate wasn’t there to hear it.

“They’ll come back eventually, we might as well get some training in while we can,” Kadeshi decided, walking to an open space and slowly getting into his warm up stretches. He didn’t have to wait for very long before Minato and Kakashi both stiffened, likely because Minato sensed something and Kakashi was following his lead. A moment later and Kadeshi recognized the unique presence of his own student.

He could tell by the small amounts of chakra left in each of them that they were exhausted. Minato was probably worried more than anything to feel how drained his students were. Naru, however, was as calm as a summer breeze. His reserves were still ocean-sized in comparison to everyone else’s, making him harder to pin down for someone like Minato, who wasn’t used to feeling Naru’s chakra all the time.

“It’s alright, Minato, if there had been a real problem, Naru would have sent for us,” Kadeshi guessed. Minato nodded, having assumed the same thing about his own students.

Seven Chunin and Naru emerged from the trees, walking as casually as they wanted seeing as all of them were exhausted. Minato’s two students blinked when they saw him and Kakashi waiting for them. Kadeshi smiled and greeted his blond student with a casual wave. The look in Naru’s eyes told him they were going to have a nice long conversation about something important afterwards.

“Hey sensei! You guys must have finished up pretty quick!” Obito greeted, making a poor attempt at brushing the dust off of his clothes. His goggles were perched on the crown of his head with brand new scratches all over the lense that must have made them impossible to see through. All of them were banged up and bruised, for that matter. It looked like they had all just come back from a mission on the front lines. Minato folded his arms across his chest and pinned them all with an unimpressed glare.

“What exactly were you doing? You bunch were supposed to be training here and yet you’ve been gone for who knows how long! When you finally come back, near dead on your feet, you come back with more soot and dirt than actual clothing!” he scolded, finding the protective streak inside of him that justified chastising all eight shinobi regardless of whether or not they were his students. To give credit to his ability, most of them feebly began trying to hide the new tears in their clothing and clean their hands on already filthy pants. Even if Minato hadn’t been there to catch them in the act, there was enough evidence of battle on their faces to make the efforts rather moot, however.

He maintained his glare for just a moment longer before sighing, uncrossing his arms and leaving one perched on his hip. “You guys look exhausted, you didn’t break anything, did you?” he asked with a fond smile. The mud and soot smearing his Chunin was endearing more than it was aggravating; he couldn’t stay mad at them.

“It was great, Minato-san!” Naru shouted, taking the lead. “Rin-chan had this awesome water jutsu and she and Kurenai-chan are incredible with genjutsu- they made me look like Minato-san! Obito made this awesome fireball and Guy-kun is an incredible fighter, he really beat me to a pulp,” he admitted bashfully. As he recounted the series of events that had transpired, he proved that he was more than just strong. He recognized their strengths and their worth as shinobi. He also conveniently left out the parts where their game had certainly been a little more life-threatening than was appropriate.

“Asuma-kun has these wicked chakra blades and wind jutsu, plus he’s really perceptive. Genma-kun is amazing with his senbon, I definitely didn’t dodge all of those. Anko-chan is really fast and kinda scary with her snakes but she has strong instincts. Wow! It got intense for a bit, but everything turned out alright,” he finished with a laugh. Kadeshi smiled and walked over to ruffle his hair, pleased with his student’s experience. The other Chunin were all slightly astonished, Minato and Kakashi included. The younger Hatake was still struggling to believe that the blond idiot had any worth himself.

“Where were you guys, anyway? You must have gone pretty far because I couldn’t feel you anywhere,” Minato asked, hoping for a little more details about how the morning had been spent. Naru’s explanation was broad but lacked enough specifics for him to get a full picture of what exactly they had been doing. Nobody rushed to answer, and right as Minato was about to press them a little harder for answers, Obito cried out in shock.

“Forget about that, sensei! Look what I can do!” he shouted, activating his Sharingan with a large grin stretching across his face. Minato and Kakashi both felt their eyes widening. Kadeshi turned to Naru with a look of astonishment adorning his features. The blond could only nod slowly in confirmation, rubbing the back of his neck and casting his eyes away from his mentor’s.

“You loser, now we’re in for it,” Anko huffed, sprawling out on the ground when Minato came to his senses, realizing the implications of his student awakening a trauma-induced Dojutsu like the Sharingan. He lit into the Chunin once more, scolding them for the second time, much to their displeasure. Meanwhile, Kadeshi had pulled Naru away from the others to talk in private while they had the chance.

“Will Obito be alright, sensei? Activating the Sharingan so early is a lot of responsibility, isn’t it?” Naru asked, trying to discern whether or not this most recent development would help them or hinder them in the end. Kadeshi sighed, clearly worried about the young Uchiha if the look on his face was anything to go by. They both turned to look briefly over the young faces of their old friends. Kadeshi couldn’t help but smile at the sight of them huddled on the ground, too exhausted to keep standing while Minato continued to dress them down.

“He’ll be fine, Naru. Obito’s just as stubborn as you are and loyal to the people he loves. I’m curious how he activated it, however,” he said, leveling his student with an inquisitive glance. Naru smiled at the thought, chuckling to himself.

“He needed it to save Anko,” he answered simply. Kadeshi closed his one eye and smiled.

“A Sharingan awoken out of love and the desire to protect is powerful indeed. That is the Sharingan a shinobi like Obito was always meant to have,” Kadeshi declared, gently touching his covered eye and remembering back to how his Obito had awakened his Sharingan for the first time while saving his life. He clapped Naru’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “What a day this has been, Naru. Definitely a strange one, even by our standards.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The inconsistent updates might be frustrating for some of you, and I apologize if they are! Inspiration comes and goes at this point, but I have already written the end of this fic so fear not, I'll get you there eventually. As always, I hope you enjoy!


	18. Shared Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

**Hatake Estate- The Next Morning**

Naru awoke long before the sun, tossing and turning as his thoughts did cartwheels in his mind, distracting him from rest. He cursed to himself when he became aware of Kadeshi’s presence on the other side of the room. They had decided to move an extra futon into the guest room and share the space. Neither felt comfortable enough to sleep with walls between them after years of living constantly in each other’s presence.

“I’m alright, sensei, go back to sleep,” he said quietly, certain that Kadeshi had been awakened by his restlessness. He hadn’t moved a muscle, nor had his breathing changed pace in the slightest. Naru could only tell because he felt Kadeshi’s chakra reaching for his. Instead of drifting off again, Kadeshi sat up in his own futon and heaved out a sigh.

“Still thinking about yesterday?” he guessed, though there was no secret as to why Naru might be hung up on the previous day’s training fiasco. Obito had earned his Sharingan ahead of schedule. The young Uchiha would now have the chance to actually learn how to use it and while that helped Naru and Kadeshi with their goal of making him stronger, it took away from the power of their knowledge.

Careful calculations and decisions made at the perfect moments would lead them to success, but only when they knew how the cards would be stacked in the deck. Now that a new player had come to play with a hand they could not see, the potential outcomes of their gamble were suddenly less clear. They were expecting serious consequences to meet them for stepping out of time and tampering where they didn’t belong, but this wasn’t anything they needed to panic over.

“Minato will go with him today to the Uchiha clan to find him a proper teacher to train his Sharingan,” Kadeshi reminded him. “This will be your chance to light a fire under Rin and get Kakashi’s attention with some of your jutsu. Everything else will fall into place,” he explained for the umpteenth time. He could tell that Naru was forcing blame on himself for “allowing” Obito to awaken his Sharingan and throw their plan off track. Kadeshi found his student’s overactive imagination to be far too troublesome at times.

“What if I just screwed everything up? That's all I'm good at, isn't it?” Naru asked softly, sitting up. Kadeshi scoffed in response, but he could tell that his student was troubled. He had learned not to doubt himself and his judgement. Doubt was an easy way to miss opportunities and they had both lost count of how many friends they had lost along with those chances. Now, his self-confidence only took a hit when Naru was nervous, when he didn’t feel in control.

“Even if you have changed things in a way we can no longer see, we’ll do our best to fix it anyways. We’re never lucky enough to have someone else clean up after the messes we get ourselves into,” Kadeshi reassured. Naru cracked a smile at that, trusting in his sensei’s wisdom. They both laid back down, deciding that neither of them had gotten enough shut-eye from the night before.

“Where are you going?” Naru asked the next morning when Kadeshi turned left instead of right as they made their way to the training fields. Kadeshi waved a hand over his shoulder.

“I’m going to see the Hokage about something he never gave back. I’ll meet you in a bit,” he explained lamely. Naru frowned but carried on, trying to figure out the best way to connect with both Rin and Kakashi. He had been lucky enough to have Rin on his team the previous day; they had certainly bonded and learned quite a bit about each other at the same time. It was a good opportunity for Naru to evaluate her ability and identify the areas where she needs the most work. His analytical eye had certainly come in handy.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was the real problem. Naru had yet to truly break through to the prepubescent closet pervert. Mr. Ukki had been a good start, and had certainly caught the boy off guard, but there was more work to be done to make a lasting impression on the young shinobi. Kakashi still thought he was a useless idiot so Naru would have to prove that he had some worth as a shinobi, if only to garner his attention before Kadeshi’s presence would shut him out.

When he reached the training field, team Minato was waiting for him, chatting idly. Naru noticed Minato frown when he arrived, either because Kadeshi had not accompanied him or because Minato now believed him to be a bad influence on his precious students. The warm greeting he received gave a clear answer.

“Hey flower boy!” Obito called, holding out his fist for Naru to bump as he finally reached them. Naru gladly did so before inclining his head towards Rin and Kakashi in greeting. Turning to Minato, he answered the question that was hanging on the tip of his tongue before the older blond could even ask it.

“My sensei went to visit the Hokage. He’ll be back soon enough and he wanted me to tell you not to worry about him,” he offered. Kakashi snorted from somewhere behind him.

“It’s not like we’d be sending out search parties for that disgrace if he didn’t show up ever again,” he griped, more irritated than usual. Obito and Rin were suddenly uncomfortable with the atmosphere that was blooming around them. Minato watched Naru’s fists clench and his jaw set with anger. Kakashi himself was entirely too caught up in his own resentment to realize that Naru was upset with his lack of concern for another’s life. 

But much to Minato’s surprise, the air cleared up again without any prompting. Naru took in a deep breath and sighed, letting go of his frustrations with an impressive display of self control. He turned to face Kakashi, and the boy finally realized that something had happened without his noticing.

“What’s your deal?” he bit out snarkily, not at all appreciative of the blank look Naru was pinning him with.

“He’d look for you if you went missing,” Naru said simply. “We all would.” Kakashi’s eyes narrowed. He turned his nose up at the suggestion, walking to his own section of the field.

“I wouldn’t need help from the likes of you. You’re not good for anything, I hear, especially if  _ Obito  _ had to save Anko from smashing her head in,” he said coldly, taking his anger out on Naru. Obito’s temper flashed, but before he could say anything to his moody teammate, Minato caught his shoulder, shaking his head and silently asking Obito not to make a scene. Rin sighed, watching the tense lines of Kakashi’s back.

“I’m sorry about him, Naru-kun. He’s not usually that mean, I wonder if something happened?” she mused, trying not to worry herself. Naru let out a soft sigh, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“I’m sure it has something to do with my sensei,” he admitted, looking to Minato for confirmation. “I heard some harsh words were exchanged yesterday.” The older blond offered no commentary about what exactly had happened, but he didn’t need to. Naru had already received a full and detailed play-by-play of the previous day’s festivities after giving one of his own. Minato could keep believing in the vow of silence that all senseis shared in order to keep gossip away from their students.

**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**

When Kadeshi stepped into the office, he was not surprised to see Jiraiya lurking in the corner, but he reminded himself to be cautious nonetheless. He bowed politely to the both of them before helping himself to one of the chairs placed in front of the Hokage’s massive desk.

“Kadeshi-san, what can I help you with? I hear Naru-kun has been enjoying his training with the other Chunin of the village so far,” the Sandaime greeted with a keen smile. Kadeshi chuckled, hearing the implications behind his words. He briefly wondered how much Minato had disclosed about the wonderful training that they had so regretfully missed.

“They’ve lit a fire under him to push himself as much as they do. He has always worked hard to improve his skills as a shinobi, but they serve as something to work towards, if you understand my meaning?” Kadeshi supplied. Jiraiya left his spot by the back windows and leaned up against a rare paperless spot on the Hokage’s desk that was swathed in light

“You think he has a long way to go to catch up to them?” he asked with a note of surprise. Jiraiya was under the impression that Naru was far stronger than a Chunin based on the abilities he had already shown them. Naru had incredible amounts of chakra and far more stamina than the average shinobi. His strength and agility were well documented if the number of times he fought and escaped from his guards upon his initial arrival in the village, also while recovering from chakra exhaustion, were anything to go off of. Kadeshi followed his train of thought.

“Naru has surpassed them in skill, I have no doubt about that, but there is always something to be learned from working with others. I see that he has made them his friends and he will grow stronger in order to protect them. He has always had such a protective nature, even of strangers if the situation is right,” he admitted, smiling as he talked of his student with nothing but fondness. The Sandaime understood that he was being genuine and found himself more than pleased that the youth of his village had such a profound impact on an outsider. He briefly wondered how much of an impact just one outsider could have on his people.

“What is it that you wanted to talk about, Kadeshi-san, I don’t want to keep you from your own training and rehabilitation if possible,” the Sandaime asked again, steepling his fingers together and resting his tired elbows on the desk in front of him. Kadeshi’s coal colored eye grew serious, and his shoulders straightened up out of their usual slouch. Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow, but the Hokage didn’t twitch in the slightest.

“You have something that belongs to me: an old family heirloom. It’s a metal token with the symbol of my clan, and I would like it back,” Kadeshi said, cutting right to the chase. The Sandaime opened a little drawer to his right and fished out the desired medallion, turning the cold metal piece over in his hands. Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest, feeling the sun warming his back.

“Might I ask where you came across this token of Sakumo’s? Am I correct in assuming that this belonged to your late brother?” the Sandaime asked, not quite willing to hand it over. He was well aware of its potential as a weapon. Kadeshi sighed, running a hand over his face.

“Yes, it was Sakumo’s. I got into some trouble a while back and ended up passed out on an old farmer’s property. He treated my wounds because he thought I was Sakumo and I ended up helping him out with some local thugs. Turns out he and my… late brother were old friends, so he gave me that as thanks,” Kadeshi explained easily. In his long career as a shinobi, Kadeshi had come to learn that the best answers to double edged questions were rooted in the truth, but not entirely honest. It helped if a few details were lost along the way.

“Sakumo appreciated its power, but always found it to be a little too bold for his purposes. Eventually I stopped seeing it altogether, though I assumed he had retired it to an old shelf somewhere in his estate,” the Hokage said in return, offering the metal piece back to Kadeshi. As he took it from the Hokage’s hand, Kadeshi smiled, enjoying the feeling of the token’s hefty weight.

“I figure it would not escape your attention after my flashy entrance into the village. The way I see it, this old thing might come in handy and protect me now that I have a rather large weak spot to start compensating for,” he admitted openly, careful not to underestimate the challenge that relearning how to use jutsu would offer him. The Sandaime nodded his head in understanding.

“Do you feel like a week is enough time to fully prepare yourself before we test your abilities?” he asked, expecting a candid response. Kadeshi did not answer right away, which made it seem like more time would be necessary after all. “You do not have to answer right away. If we break you from pushing too hard you would be no use to anybody afterwards.” Kadeshi’s face soured at the bluntness of his statement, but he knew the Hokage was right.

“Thank you, I will take my leave now,” Kadeshi said, standing and bowing to both men before departing. Jiraiya watched the door shut softly behind him and felt his presence wandering out of earshot before he turned to his own mentor.

“What do you think?” he asked vaguely, but the Sandaime was aware of the real question hiding underneath the blandness of the one uttered out loud. He thought quietly for a moment, pulling an old pipe out of his desk drawer and pressing some fresh tobacco into the bowl on the end. He lit the pipe and took a few long draws before he was satisfied with his observations.

“According to Minato-kun, he is forward with Kakashi-kun about his father where the rest of us have kept ourselves removed from the situation. Such an immediate and hands-on approach to dealing with his nephew’s bottled up anger is rather out of character for a Hatake. His careful, measured responses to our questions, however, is not,” he deduced.

“Are you worried about Kakashi? Aside from trying to attack him when they first met, Kakashi has taken to having a lookalike of his dead father walking around rather well, I would say. That kid is going to have serious issues if he doesn’t get some kind of closure about Sakumo,” Jiraiya said with a sigh. “And Minato coddles him, as much as he wants to deny it, he walks around on eggshells with that boy.”

“We will see what happens as the week progresses, they will be spending no small amount of time together. I want you to be there as well, periodically. Minato is fair in most cases, but he is quite biased when it comes to his students. I would like your opinion on them as well,” the Sandaime ordered. Jiraiya groaned half-heartedly, despondent about losing more time for his “research”, but excited at the same time. Keeping an eye on Kadeshi also meant he would be keeping an eye on Naru and Jiraiya was by no means finished learning about his unique senjutsu.

**Training Ground 7**

“Alright everyone, Obito and I are off! Work on taijutsu until I get back and then we’ll switch to some ninjutsu and genjutsu for the rest of the afternoon,” Minato said to Rin and Naru, aware that Kakashi was listening in even from his secluded section of the training field. The other two waved them off before settling into their own stances to work through their moves, side by side. Naru surprised himself with how easy it was to train alongside someone else. It had been so long since he had any teammates to grow stronger with.

As it was, he was watching Rin out of the corner of his eye and saw that her movements were forceful and hard as she performed her katas. He realized that she was performing the same movements as Kakashi and Obito. They were both frontline fighters and had the strength to follow through with their attacks, but Rin was not built the same. Naru frowned, but an idea began to form in his head. She needed to adjust her martial arts style so that she wouldn’t have to depend on the brute strength she didn’t have. She needed to learn how to use her opponent’s force against them.

“Rin-chan? You got a lot of taijutsu experience by chance?” Naru asked her as they continued through their katas. Rin shook her head but carried on with her motions.

“Not really, I’m not supposed to be throwing myself into any fights as a medic. I’ve been trained more as a long-range support shinobi, avoiding conflict whenever possible so I can save my chakra for when my teammates need it,” she answered. While it was logical for medic nin to avoid fighting, it was impossible to escape them altogether, which was why Naru was hoping to give Rin an edge with her combat abilities. He made an unpleasant face at her answer.

“But you’ll always be in danger when you’re out on missions. Wouldn’t taijutsu be the best discipline for you to improve since you’re not using up your chakra?” he pointed out. Rin nodded, rubbing one of her arms self consciously.

“That’s true, but the farther I am from danger, the safer everyone is. A simple, well-made genjutsu can keep me hidden from the enemy, too,” she argued back. Naru propped his hands on his hips, grinning at her.

“How about I teach you some of what I know about taijutsu?” he proposed, ignoring her hesitations altogether. “It wouldn’t hurt would it? Besides, I need a sparring partner and if we get yelled at I’ll take the blame since I’m not really giving you a choice,” he said, winking at her. Rin stuttered awkwardly for a moment.

“B-but what about… I d-don’t know… ask Kakashi-kun!” she blurted eventually, calming her racing heart to answer properly. “He knows a few more styles than I do, he could spar with you,” Rin suggested logically, but when they both looked over at the younger Hatake, they noticed that he was busy angrily burying kunai up to their hilts in a few targets pinned to the trees.

“Is now really a good time to be bothering him?” Naru asked himself with a grimace, not eager to earn the wrath of little Kakashi. Rin sighed before shaking herself of her teammate’s negative energy. She turned to Naru and remembered watching him fight off both Asuma and Guy at the same time with his superb skills. Obito and Kakashi were always trying to increase their strength and put their all into training. She did the same, but the majority of her time was spent studying medicine which was important in its own way. She locked eyes with Naru who was waiting for her to address the question hanging unanswered in the air between them.

“I guess you’ll just have to spar with me, then! I’ll do my best to learn something,” she offered. Her confidence grew when Naru smiled an encouraging smile and accepted her offer. He knew far more than her when it came to hand to hand combat, and if Naru could help her get stronger, then she would do what she could with the time she had left.

“So, Minato-sensei… who did you ask to help me with my Sharingan?” Obito blurted out, unable to hold in the question any longer. They had made it halfway through the village by that point, the Uchiha compound was only a few minutes away. Minato was not pleased to see his student acting so anxious about meeting up with a member of his own clan. He wasn’t surprised, however.

“You’ll see, Obito-kun. Be patient.” Obito’s parents had died while he was still young, and he lived alone with the occasional help of some older members of his clan for a few years after. As he grew and trained as a shinobi, he was expected to awaken his Sharingan and contribute to the true power of his clan. When it never happened, Obito was gradually forgotten until the adults stopped coming to help him cook food, or make sure he had enough clothes or even to make sure that he was still alive. He lived on the outskirts of the clan, away from all the others, and he had learned to avoid his clansmen when they crossed paths in the village.

Minato was aware that none of his friends or teammates traveled the same circuits as the high and mighty Uchiha, so with any luck, they had yet to find out about Obito’s Sharingan. He had contacted the one person he knew among them to be both knowledgeable and willing to look past his prejudices to help an outcast like Obito. If he coincidentally left out any information about Obito in his request for help, it was a small omission. Minato had asked if the man would be willing to help him decipher some old seals with his family’s prized Dojutsu, and that was it. Minato was still surprised that the man had said yes.

_ ‘Well, his fiance might have bullied him into helping me, she is friends with Kushina after all,’ _ Minato thought to himself. The look on the man’s grouchy face when they arrived supported that theory. Obito ground to a halt as soon as the heir to the Uchiha clan came into view. Fugaku had never been explicitly mean or negligent of him that he could remember, but he was still colder than ice at the best of times.

“Fugaku-san,” Minato started, nodding his head at the other man.

“Minato-san,” the stoic man returned with a slight dip of his own head. His black eyes flicked over to Obito, running up and down his guarded form. Fugaku’s eyes narrowed, he could tell that something was off, but eventually relented, his eyes softening. “How are you, Obito? You do your best to stay out of the compound and away from the rest of us, though I suppose there are multiple people to blame for that,” he admitted with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. The boy blinked in surprise, not expecting the soon-to-be patriarch of the Uchiha clan to show any interest in him.

“We’ve done a few B and A ranked missions so far, but nothing too extreme. We’re supposed to be getting our next big assignment in another few weeks.” he replied honestly. Fugaku frowned, however.

“A few weeks? Your Chunin team is more than capable of handling missions at a faster pace than that,” he chided, and Obito couldn’t help but assume that it was a dig at his own abilities, or lack thereof, slowing down his teammates. Luckily, Minato jumped in to answer for him.

“We’re technically on assignment right now, Fugaku-san. I’m sure you’re aware of our newest additions to the village. My team was assigned to help them get settled in the village and assist with their rehabilitation until they can be tried and given official rankings at the end of the week,” he explained. Fugaku’s frown deepened.

“I take it Obito is useless in such delicate endeavors, then?” he bit out, and Obito was oddly comforted by the familiar tone in his voice. It may have been a negative one, but it was what he expected from the members of his clan. Minato chose to take offense, however. It seemed he hadn’t hardened himself as much as Obito had to the insults yet.

“He is far from useless, Fugaku,” he returned, dropping any sense of formality. “We’re not here for you to bring down my student. We’re here because you agreed to help me.” Obito had a weird look on his face, but he wasn’t sure it was the right time or place to voice his thoughts. He wasn’t given a choice however, when Fugaku noticed.

“If you’ve got something to say, Obito, say it! Quit wasting time thinking about it,” he barked. “Uchiha do not hesitate!” Obito clenched his fists tightly, once again conflicted.

“How can you be so mean to me and then turn around and ask how I’m doing like you actually care?! I know you don’t, so why even bother?” he asked. Fugaku sighed, exasperated as if the answer should have been obvious.

“You may not have the same pride or ability as the rest of us,” he started, making Obito flinch. “But you still bear our name and our crest. That means you will always be a target when you leave the walls of this village, Sharingan or no. The least you could do is have the decency to be a passable shinobi if you are going to wear our crest in the field,” he said. Obito was once again hit with mixed feelings about his patriarch. On one hand, Fugaku cared to know if he was strong, capable, but on the other, it was only because he didn’t want the clan to be embarrassed by him.

“Well, I guess you don’t have to worry about me staying weak forever, then,” Obito said, but neither Minato nor Fugaku could decipher the implications of his words while his head was bent towards the ground, hiding his eyes from them. “Because I’m done being weak and I’m done with you bastards treating me like third-rate trash because I decided to be a shinobi without a Sharingan,” he swore, conviction flowing off of him as he finally raised his head. Fugaku’s eyes widened in surprise, and suddenly he knew why Minato had come with Obito instead of whatever bullshit seals he had made up to get him there.

“So you will teach me the ways of our clan and afterwards I will use it however the hell I want,” he decided firmly, conviction bleeding out of every pore in his body. Obito wasn’t going to lie to the man. He had no intention of torturing others with his Sharingan like he had known his clansmen to do. He would not be a cold blooded murderer like the rest of them, not to achieve the secret eyes that the boys he grew up with whispered about. If Fugaku didn’t want to help him after knowing that, Obito would happily find himself a new teacher.

“So I see you’ve finally grown up, Obito,” Fugaku muttered, matching the boy’s underdeveloped Sharingan and his attitude with his own mastered version with three tomoe in each blood coloured eye. “You’re nothing more than a whelp, but I have to wonder how strong you will become under my watchful eye.” Obito was still staring down Fugaku when he felt it. The feeling was subtle, a pull in the back of his mind, but it sent chills down his spine.

Fugaku turned away and led them deeper into the compound. Minato waved at some of the people and children running around, but couldn’t help but notice the hard glares angled at Obito. He gave into the urge to rest his hand on the boy’s shoulder, conveying his silent support with just a touch. Obito was grateful as Fugaku led them deeper into the dark heart of the Uchiha Clan.

**Training Ground 7**

“Sensei! What took you so long?!” Naru called, raising his hand in greeting when Kadeshi came strolling over. A foot smacked his face, sending him sprawling on his back with a grunt. Rin landed a few feet away, bracing herself for Naru to continue the spar. He dragged himself back to his feet, ignoring his snickering mentor.

Kadeshi let him be, turning his attention towards Kakashi, who was still doing his own thing. He fingered the hilt of his tanto as he walked over, waiting for Kakashi to acknowledge him rather than interrupting the boy’s training and incurring any unnecessary wrath. He stretched silently to wait out his nephew. True to his predictions, he made it through half of his stretches before Kakashi whirled on Kadeshi in anger.

“What the hell do you want?” he hissed. Apparently waiting his turn hadn’t worked after all, but at least he had the boy’s attention. He drew his tanto, sheath and all from his belt, holding it out.

“Want to have a go? I need a challenge right now, and I have no doubt that you will give it to me,” he proposed. Kadeshi watched his face draw in underneath his mask and decided something more would be needed to sweeten the deal. He returned his tanto to his belt and drew the silver medallion out of his pocket. The metal was cool to the touch and largely innocent in appearance, but Kakashi recognized it.

“Where did you get that?” he asked suspiciously. Kadeshi rolled his one eye.

“Quit acting like I stole it, Kakashi-kun. Help me out for the week and not only will I give it to you, I’ll show you how to use it. You might have read up on it or heard some stories of your father using it, but it really is difficult when you try it for the first time,” Kadeshi admitted, pocketing the medallion. Kakashi didn’t want to help his Uncle if he was weak, but the added incentive of getting the token was enough to push him to accept.

“I’ll spar with you then, if that’s really the road you want to take,” he declared, drawing the white light blade left to him by his Father. As much as he hated Sakumo, the tanto was a strong one and it had served him well. Kadeshi copied his nephew’s action, readying himself for a ruthless fight.

They exchanged blows for nearly twenty minutes without pause. Kakashi growing frustrated with how effective Kadeshi was at stopping his attacks and redirecting them so that they struck harmlessly at open air. The young Chunin landed some good strikes and a few lethal blows that were abandoned just before making contact, but lingered long enough to tell Kadeshi that he needed to try harder.

Kakashi surged forward after a particularly aggravating exchange of blows, using brute force for a change and barreling straight at the man rather than trying to find a sneaky way around his defensives. Kakashi knew from experience that there were none. He was banking on Kadeshi’s anticipation of an alternate method of attack rather than a frontal assault.

True enough, Kadeshi’s one eye widened considerably when Kakashi moved in to strike, but he was too still for comfort. Kakashi’s eyes narrowed and he abandoned the attack, sliding back on the ground and waiting, his instincts telling him that something was wrong.

“Oi! What’s wrong! Are you even paying attention?” he called, but received no answer. Across the field, Naru and Rin’s fight was paused as soon as Naru sensed a change in the chakra that surrounded them. His eyes found his sensei and he activated his sage mode, rushing over and ignoring Kakashi’s angry yelling.

“Sensei?” he asked, seeing the glazed over look in his eye. His chakra was unhappy and Naru could feel his distress. He flooded the area with warmth and light, suffocating the negativity of Kadeshi’s being until he was cognizant again. His eye opened and closed rapidly, finding Naru right away.

“You alright?” Naru asked him seriously, expecting a truthful answer regardless of their present company. Kadeshi nodded slowly, his heartbeat evening out.

“We’ve got some things to talk about later,” he told his student, patting him on the shoulder with a sigh. “Kakashi-kun! My apologies! I was busy thinking about what kind of dinner Naru and I could make tonight, you should come over and join us!” he called happily, excited and exaggerating the invitation just to throw his younger self off. Predictably, it worked.

“Take this seriously you old bastard! We’re not here so you can daydream, we’re here to train!” he barked, brandishing his tanto again. Naru leveled his sensei with a sharp gaze before conceding and returning to Rin, assuring her that everything was alright.

When they resumed their bouts, Kakashi was surprised to find himself on the defensive. Kadehsi’s attacks packed a stronger punch than before, and there were less openings for the younger Hatake to exploit. Kadeshi was forcing himself to stay focused, but he couldn’t stop himself from wondering why he had just seen Fugaku and his wife Mikoto lying dead in their house after the Uchiha massacre, and why Minato and Kushina immediately followed, both killed by the vile Kyuubi. His Sharingan ached behind his eyelids, dragging old memories from the farthest corners of his mind, but he shrugged off the sensation and promised to have Naru help him look into it later.

**Residence of Uchiha Fugaku- A Few Minutes Earlier**

Obito and Minato had been led to the den of Fugaku’s house to talk about his Sharingan and iron out any training schedules before Minato was sent on his way to preserve the secrets of the Uchiha clan. Minato and Fugaku were exchanging words when Obito suddenly felt a burning sensation in his left eye. He clapped his hand over it, drawing the attention of the two adults with the sound of him hitting himself.

“What is it?” Fugaku griped, but he frowned when Obito hesitantly met his eyes. His Sharingan had activated again, but it wasn’t strong like it should have been. Obito’s Sharingan was weak, and it made him angry. Out of instinct alone, Fugaku activated his own, challenging Obito’s, determined to draw the anger into them so they would be true Sharingan.

Obito looked into his superior’s eyes and felt the same pull that tugged at his heart and his mind at the same time, dragging him away from reality. His left eye was throbbing and suddenly, he wasn’t looking at Fugaku anymore. He was looking at two bodies slumped over each other in a dimly lit bedroom. They were dead if the blood pooling on the floor underneath them was any indication, but he was too shocked to go and see who they were.

_ “Obito!” _ Minato shouted in his ear, waking him from the strange vision he had just seen. His heart was racing, his breaths short and frantic. He saw Minato, his listless smile leaking blood as a faceless shinobi lifted his head off the ground. The gaping hole in his stomach was wide enough to see straight through to the other side where his lover, Uzumaki Kushina, had suffered the same cruel fate. Her red hair was scattered about her lifeless face, more vibrant and striking than the life giving fluids that were abandoning her body along with Minato’s. There was a baby too, somewhere he couldn’t see, wailing to fill the still air with noise.

_ “Obito! Hey!” _ His whole body flinched when he felt a hand touch his shoulder, and the vision of his sensei was gone, nothing more than a memory that he wouldn’t ever unsee. Glancing up, he saw Fugaku standing there with a look that expressed worry buried among other watered-down Uchiha emotions. Minato’s brow was furrowed with more genuine concern, and Obito couldn’t stop himself from reaching out with tentative fingers to brush against the front of his flak jacket, where there was no mortal wound, only solid flesh.

“Obito?” he asked. Obito pulled back his hand like he had been burned, apologizing airily when he was certain his sensei was still living and breathing right in front of him. The entire time, his left eye was throbbing. It burned fiercely and he cried out, holding a hand over it and trying to keep his cool.

“What is it, Obito? What’s the matter with you?” Fugaku said, snapping into action and pulling the boy’s hands away from his eye.

“It’s nothing,” he lied, feeling a few rebellious tears slip down his face when he lowered his head. He yanked his wrists out of Fugaku’s grasp before wiping his tears away with a chuckle, keeping his head bent even though he assumed both men had seen them. He didn’t need to give Fugaku any more ammunition to harass him with. The breath caught in his throat when the back of his hand came back red. “Huh? Am I bleeding?” he asked nobody in particular. Minato turned his student to face him, kneeling on the ground to look up into his face before Obito could stop him.

“What is this?” Minato whispered, eyes blowing wide. Fugaku growled, seizing Obito’s chin and tilting his head up as roughly as he dared with Minato in such close proximity. He sucked in a quick breath at what he saw. Obito’s right Sharingan was normal with a single tomoe, but his left was fully matured. Slim trails of blood were leaking from his left eye, but normal tears escaped his right.

“Did you see something just now?” Fugaku asked quietly, seriously, staring back into Obito’s mismatched Sharingan, but Obito was not willing to tell what he had just experienced. He wasn’t even sure himself if what he had seen had been real at all. He shook his head silently, untrusting of his own voice. Fugaku’s eyes narrowed, seeing right through the lie with his Sharingan.

“Can you deactivate them?” he asked, willing to let the truth go for the moment. Obito closed his eyes, trying not to see more corpses. When he opened them again, Fugaku didn’t look any happier. He released his face though, and Obito subconsciously rubbed at his chin. Obito knew why his patriarch was displeased. He could feel that his right eye was normal again, but his left was still sapping his energy away.

“Why won’t it turn off, Fugaku-sama? What’s wrong with my Sharingan?” Obito whispered hoarsely. The patriarch sighed, pinning Minato with a stern glare seeing as he had only tried to comfort his student rather than help the Uchiha force the answers out of him.

“I don’t know, but you’re not leaving my sight until we figure out why it's acting up,” he determined, leaving no room for argument. Minato was not thrilled about the prospect, but found himself swallowing his words before he ended up with an escort out of the Uchiha compound. If keeping his mouth shut would allow him to stay with his student for even a moment longer, that’s what he would do. He was just as curious as the rest of them, anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!


	19. New Challenges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

**Training Ground 7**

Minato only returned to his other students after Obito continually assured him that he would come back from the Uchiha Compound alive. They were only able to spend a few minutes together, seeing as Fugaku had no intention of divulging clan secrets of any kind or consequence to a man who was not an Uchiha, regardless of his trustworthiness or dedication to their home village. Obito would learn the basics of using the Sharingan from Fugaku and Minato would do whatever he could to help him develop it even faster outside of that time.

Entering the field, he was pleasantly surprised to see Naru and Rin sparring with each other rather than on their own. He had been absent for maybe an hour and Rin was already covered in dirt while Naru was significantly cleaner, but not totally free of grime. Minato smiled when he noticed a large patch of dirt stuck to the back of Naru’s shirt. He was content to assume that meant Rin had flattened the energetic blond at least once since they had started their match.

Across the field, Kadeshi and Kakashi were also sparring, each wielding their respective tanto blades. He could see frustration in the lines of Kakashi’s body and the jerky, almost impulsive way he moved only confirmed his suspicions. Kadeshi was exactly the opposite, controlled and calm despite the rapidly increasing amount of malice being directed his way by his precious nephew.

He watched them from afar for a few moments, reading into the situation as best as he could for only having some of the context that led to it. Minato was honestly shocked and more than a touch concerned about the vividness of Kakashi’s emotions that bubbled up to the surface of his being. It soon became clear what Kadeshi was trying to do.

_ ‘Whether you realize it or not, Kadeshi-san is showing you the gap you must overcome, Kakashi,’ _ Minato thought to himself, analyzing every exchange of blows. Kadeshi was taking every attack Kakashi made and giving it all back with grace despite his recently acquired “handicap.” There was still some uncertainty in Kadeshi’s movements, spurred by his need to continue to adjust to a new center of gravity, but the way Kakashi fought him wildly, almost to the point of being reckless, made the slip ups obsolete.

_ ‘A shinobi ruled by their anger will face enemies from without and within. Overcome it and your potential will be limitless, Kakashi,’ _ Minato thought, no longer able to deny that Kakashi’s temper was something that needed to be addressed. Such a display was more likely to come from Obito and even Rin, but never Kakashi. Kadeshi was excellent at drawing his nephew’s weaknesses right in front of his eyes in a way that ensured he wouldn’t be able to hide from them. He had done the same thing once already by confronting Kakashi about Sakumo. Minato suspected that Kadeshi’s claim of having the same feelings and experiences as Kakashi was not far from the truth after all. His eyes drifted away from the sparring Hatakes, but some stinging words from his conversation with Kadeshi the previous day made him pause.

_ “If there is anybody alive who can help him before he is too far gone, it is you, Minato-san, not me,” _ he had said. Minato glanced back at the two silver haired nin and winced when he watched Kadeshi evidently grow tired of the back and forth. He hooked his blade around the hilt of Kakashi’s and yanked hard, slicing a narrow cut into the side of his hand. He tossed the white light blade across the grass and levelled his nephew with a hard roundhouse kick while he was too busy trying to figure out how he could have let himself be disarmed.

“Wh-what the  _ hell _ ?!” Kakashi hissed, finding the tip of his Uncle’s tanto hovering in front of his nose when he sat up in the grass. Kadeshi’s lips were quirked into a half smirk at one end, showing his amusement, but when Kakashi looked up into his slate gray eye, he saw none of the same mirth. “What do you want from me you bastard? Spit it out already,” Kakashi ground out quietly, raw venom bubbling through his veins for the man in front of him. Kadeshi’s eye narrowed, but his gaze flicked to the side briefly, ending their battle of wills right as it was beginning.

Minato’s sunny blond hair and bright eyes replaced the ice-cold spectre that had taken over his obnoxious Uncle at some point during the morning. His sensei hauled him to his feet, handing him the white light blade that he had already retrieved on his way over. Kakashi couldn’t look him in the eyes, though he wasn’t sure if it was the knowledge that Minato must have been watching him perform so poorly or the fact that Kadeshi had purposefully waited to defeat him until Minato was there to witness. He had noticed the change in his opponent as soon as it came. The rapid knockdown was something the elder had been saving for an opportune moment.

“Kakashi-” Minato started, but his student was quick to cut him off.

“I know sensei, I need to train harder. If some washed up cripple can push my limits like that, obviously I’m not trying hard enough to make myself stronger,” he answered quickly. “It won’t happen again. I won’t be a weak link that brings down this team.” Minato’s worries only soared with every syllable that escaped the young shinobi’s mouth. He placed his hands on Kakashi’s shoulders, squeezing gently.

“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say,” he told his charge. “You are strong, Kakashi, the best among your peers and you know that’s true. I pushed your acceptance into the Jonin Exams because you are strong enough to carry such a rank and everything that comes with it. The reason you  _ lost _ ,” and here he emphasized the word, seeing the flash of challenge in Kakashi’s eyes, “the reason you lost was because you’re letting your resentment take over your common sense.” Kakashi’s eyes widened at the unusual taste of disappointment hiding underneath his sensei’s words.

Minato observed his body language and deemed it safe to continue having their conversation. He let go of Kakashi only to throw his arm around his shoulders and steer them towards the trees surrounding the training field. Based on the way Kakashi tensed and then slowly forced himself to relax, Minato figured he knew something uncomfortable was bound to be coming.

“When you spar with your Uncle, what do you see?” Minato asked him seriously as they walked. Kakashi’s forehead scrunched up with emotion and he closed his eyes, lowering his head by not faltering in his steps.

“I see mistakes and I think of how I’m going to beat him,” he answered quickly, but even Kakashi knew that it was the wrong answer as soon as the words left his mouth. Minato didn’t say anything, but he did slide his arm off of his student so he could walk freely. Kakashi took a deep breath and made an effort to draw up his memories of the spar. He surprised himself when he recalled some of their exchanges and the moves he had decided to use when another was clearly the better option and would have allowed him to defeat Kadeshi many times over.

“He was using the same moves I used on him earlier… and I was making all of the mistakes he had already made. He fights like me,” Kakashi tried, hand cupping his chin as he poured over every detail he could remember. Minato nodded along, having noticed the same thing, but also something else.

“He fights like Sakumo-san did,” he added, and Kakashi suddenly stopped walking. “Careful, calculative, capable of separating his own emotions from the moment when he fights. Whether you realize it or not, Kakashi, your lingering anger towards your father is coloring your ability to fight as well as we both know you can.” The boy’s anger was quickly rising if the rigid way he held his shoulders and trembling fists was any indication to his sensei.

“He is nothing like my father, sensei, and I can control my emotions just fine,” Kakashi answered quietly. Minato sighed, closing his eyes.

“You might think that, but ever since Kadeshi-san showed up you’ve had a much harder time keeping your feelings locked away. It shows, Kakashi. So I have a task for you now that the Jonin Exams are coming up,” Minato said, turning slowly and leading them back towards the Training ground. Kakashi followed obediently along behind his sensei, but his jaw was still set tightly underneath his mask. They stopped just inside the tree line.

“Take a look at them, Kakashi,” Minato said, tilting his head at the three in the clearing. Naru and Rin were still going back and forth, but now they were locked together in a battle of strength with a kunai apiece. Naru quickly exerted his superior strength on Rin, surging forward to push her down flat, but Rin saw the move coming and rolled out of the way. Naru tumbled forward and his sensei cheered on the sidelines, sitting cross legged on the ground and praising Rin. The blond sage jumped to his feet with a grin, complimenting the kunoichi’s quick thinking.

“What am I supposed to be seeing?” Kakashi asked, eyes lingering on the bashful expression Rin wore. Her eyes and her smile were overflowing with excitement in a way that he couldn’t ever remember seeing her look before. Minato was watching too, a smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

“Your father was a magnificent shinobi, Kakashi. Not just because he was strong and reliable, but because he understood what he should be fighting for. He fought so we could have  _ this _ . Individuality and passion in what we do, even though our jobs are rather unsavory at times. He fought so his comrades could continue living, as we all should,” Minato said with confidence. Kakashi’s gaze left Rin’s determined face and met the kind eyes he had always known Minato to have. His heart was feeling everything but kindness at that moment, however.

“And am I expected to follow the other shining example he left us all with?” he asked bitterly. Minato was taken aback at the resentment he could see his student still harbored for Sakumo. It only reaffirmed his decision to push Kakashi in a new direction, one that he had never had the spine to try before.

“There’s something I want you to do, Kakashi. This is the task that I mentioned to you earlier,” Minato started, voice even. “You have one week until the Jonin Exams. I want you to stay with Kadeshi-san and Naru-kun for that time. Learn from them, their likes, their dislikes, their dreams, everything. They will have unique experiences, having traveled all over the Elemental Nations. I can tell you from spending my own time with them, that they are both strong in their own ways. Their strengths are different from each other as well as from yours. When you can tell me what that strength is, then you will be ready to take the Jonin exams,” he decided. Kakashi’s eyes narrowed.

“Does that mean you won’t let me take the exams if I don’t get chummy with those two idiots?” he shot back. Minato smiled, of all responses, and clapped Kakashi on the back, striding over to the others still training in the field.

“Don’t give up! I won’t help you, this is something you need to do on your own!” Minato called back over his shoulder. Kakashi resisted the urge to punch the tree trunk that had the misfortune of resting right next to him.

Kadeshi welcomed him with a dip of his head, curious to see what Minato had to say, if anything at all. Kakashi was still lurking behind the treeline, and Rin and Naru were still dodging around each other. Rin was clearly starting to slow down, but Naru’s stamina was something to envy. It would be just the two of them for the next precious moments, so he was not surprised when Minato stopped next to him with one hand propped on his hip.

“For better or for worse, I decided to take some of your advice, Kadeshi-san,” Minato started, cutting right to the chase, thought Kadeshi expected nothing less. Minato was a terribly efficient man when he put his mind to it. “I’ve said my piece to him about Sakumo-san, but he’s still very much wrapped up in the worst parts of his father’s story. I gave him a task, to seek out you and Naru-kun and learn what he can about your strengths and what makes you two good shinobi. I would appreciate it if you would indulge me and give him a nudge when he needs it. Hopefully then he will be able to find some piece of mind,” Minato said, finishing with a sigh while Kadeshi nodded along silently.

“We’ll do our best, but the change is his to make at the end of the day. Thank you for trusting us with this, Minato-san,” he answered, bowing his head to the blond man. Minato returned the bow, his head falling even lower than Kadeshi’s had.

“Thank you for challenging my complacency, Kadeshi-san.” Before anything else could be said, Rin put a hold on her spar with Naru and rushed over to them, out of breath but excited nonetheless. “What is it, Rin-chan? Naru is a tough opponent and you’ve been doing quite well based on what I’ve seen so far,” Minato said with a smile, patting her head fondly. Rin grinned underneath his hand and met his eyes with clenched fists. Minato hadn’t seen her so fired up since the day she found out she had been accepted into the training program for field medics.

“He’s really strong so I want to train harder, sensei! I need to get stronger physically and I need to be more agile! I can barely keep up with the boys and I’m just going to hold Obito-kun and Kakashi-kun back if I can’t take care of myself! Can you please help me?” she asked, bowing at the waist to convey her seriousness. Minato took half a step back in surprise, not expecting such a serious request from his meekest student.

“O-of course!” he stuttered out before regaining his bearings. It seemed like all of his students had managed to find their next big hurdles at the same time. He silently hoped Rin’s sudden enthusiasm wasn’t a result of something disastrous in the making.

“What’s gotten you all fired up, if you don’t mind me asking?” he tried. She looked over her shoulder at Naru, who was busy annoying his own sensei now that his training partner was distracted. Rin had spent the last hour taking hits and listening to Naru break down every flaw in her defense and attacks, along with tips on how to correct them. It helped her to realize exactly how physically weak she really was, how much of a burden she would be if she didn’t keep moving forward. Their sparring had lit a fire in her belly, one that she was going to fan and protect until it was a raging, unstoppable blaze.

“I’m slow compared to them, nowhere near as strong and I wouldn’t be able to do my job as medic if I get injured because I can’t take care of myself,” she explained seriously, a smile forming on her lips as she watched Naru dance around his mentor’s sharp jabs, finally fed up with being harassed by his student. “They’re all strong, sensei. I can’t fall behind,” she said with conviction, making Minato proud to be her sensei.

“Let’s get to work, then. Anything in particular that you want to start with?” he asked. Rin beamed, nodding enthusiastically. Minato couldn’t help but grin in response.

“Taijutsu!”

**Uchiha Training Complex- Later that Night**

“Again, Obito!” Fugaku barked at the boy lying on the floor of the dojo. Obito’s eyes were clenched shut while he was trying to regain his breath, utterly exhausted at the end of his first day of Fugaku’s harsh training. The young shinobi peeled himself off of the floor and shifted his arms and legs into a proper combat stance. His right eye was flickering back and forth between red and black while the left was still burning brightly.

Fugaku nodded, pleased that he was still able to stand but no more words were exchanged before he was on the offensive. Obito kept up with the first few attacks, even managing to take a swing at his mentor before Fugaku could sweep the feet right out from under him, kicking him across the floor of the dojo yet again. They had been doing the same dance for a few hours already, and Obito was supposed to be using his Sharingan to predict and avoid Fugaku who had taken pity on him and decided not to use his own.

Obito still hadn’t been able to turn off his left Sharingan, and rightfully suspected that Fugaku was trying to beat the energy out of him and see if it would deactivate on its own. The last hit had definitely taken the remainder of his strength, and all he could do was glare pitifully up at the heir of his clan. When black swam through his vision, he found he couldn’t quite hear what Fugaku was saying, though it was probably an insult if he knew anything about his wonderful clan’s utter disdain for what they considered to be weakness. He could only hope that sleep wouldn’t bring more terrible visions like the first two he had already witnessed. 

When the elder saw Obito go limp, finally unconscious after a few grueling hours of training, he was honestly surprised. He had expected Obito to give in much sooner, but he had gotten to his feet without fail every time he was laid out. He continued to do so even though he knew he was nowhere close to doing the same to his opponent. His resilience was something Fugaku could appreciate.

He approached the boy and rolled him onto his back, less to see if he was still breathing, and more to get a good look at his eyes. Fugaku gently opened Obito’s right eye, approving of the black iris that he saw staring back at him. When he repeated the gesture with the left, he saw a Sharingan glaring back at him that could have been a copy of his own. It’s rich color ran deep, threatening to swallow Fugaku up in its very depths should he get too close.

A serious thought crossed his mind and he wasn’t as quick to dismiss it as he would have liked. As it was, Fugaku couldn’t let go of the thought no matter how hard he tried. He wanted to see for himself, and there would never be a more perfect time.

He activated his own Sharingan and watched Obito closely for signs of consciousness. Nothing about his eyes seemed out of the ordinary, but when Fugaku’s eyes shifted, the tomoe elongating and stretching together into a pinwheel that was his and his alone, Obito’s responded. His mature eye morphed into a Mangekyou that could rival Fugaku’s own, startling the older man into withdrawing. The patriarch sat back on his heels and allowed the boy’s eye to shut, shaken but gifted with a hint of understanding. Unfortunately, what he now understood didn’t make sense in the slightest.

Obito’s Sharingan wasn’t a fluke. It was fully matured and powerful, but it didn’t house deep anguish and hate like all the rest of them. Fugaku couldn’t even begin to describe what it felt like, but he was certain of one thing. He didn’t feel challenged when he looked into Obito’s Sharingan, like he would with any other. From the youngest of their clan to the eldest who lived long enough to retire with their eyes intact, their red eyes were wielded to assert dominance, always. Dominance over other shinobi, and even members of their own clan. Obito’s held none of the same desire or animosity, though not because of a lack of abuse on the clan’s behalf.

What was even stranger, was that he had seen Obito’s Sharingan himself that morning, presumably just after he had awoken it. There were only one tomoe apiece in his eyes, but at some point during their time together, Obito became afflicted by something and his left eye not only finished maturing, it became a Mangekyou in one fell swoop. Fugaku began to wonder if the young Uchiha was being truthful about when he had awoken his eyes, but gave up on the idea just as quickly. It was unheard of for someone’s eyes to develop independently of each other.

“You’ve always been an outcast, Obito. Why is it that even with a Sharingan, you don’t make any sense to the rest of us?” he said with a sigh, scooping the kid off the ground and retreating into the back to dress his wounds.

Fugaku resolved himself to find out the truth, one way or another. When Obito was well enough to continue training in the morning they would test just how strong his left eye really was. Until then, he would consult the archives and research any abnormalities that could give him some insight into what was causing spontaneous evolution of a Sharingan in someone none of them thought would ever be able to awaken it in the first place.

**Hatake Estate**

“Before I forget, Naru, Minato ordered Kakashi-kun to spend some  _ quality _ time with us,” he said, far less cheerful than he could have been. Naru reciprocated his feeling with an exasperated groan as he collapsed on the couch in the living area.

“It’s great and all that Minato is trying to push him in the right direction, but there’s only so many verbal beatings a man can take before they try and strangle their abuser,” Naru whined. Kadeshi laughed at his response, ruffling the teen’s blond mop of hair on the way to the fridge.

“I know what you mean, but it’ll be alright. Let’s just be ourselves and he’ll warm up to us eventually,” Kadeshi suggested. Naru raised a brow at that, hanging over the back of the couch to see his mentor in the kitchen.

“Ourselves, huh?” he repeated. Kadeshi craned his head around to look over his shoulder, serious enough to make eye contact before giving his own answer.

“He’ll be surprised, but he won’t hate us. Besides, he already got a taste the other day when we went shopping all over the village,” he pointed out, turning back to the contents of the fridge while he figured out what they could eat. Naru’s thoughts swam around in his head, but one in particular drew his attention.

“Sensei, what happened earlier? You slipped up during your match with baby Kakashi,” he said, deciding to bring up the topic while they still had some privacy. Kadeshi closed the fridge with a sigh, setting a carton of eggs down on the counter.

“Some of my old memories started playing through my Sharingan. I’ve never had that happen before and it took me by surprise. One moment I was sparring, the next I was looking at the aftermath of the Uchiha massacre and then I could see Minato and Kushina on the day they died after sealing Kurama into you,” he admitted. Naru’s brow creased with worry and he was unsure if he would be able to connect the right dots with all of the things they had already disturbed just by being out of place in time.

“Do you think it has anything to do with Obito awakening his Sharingan? Technically there are more of his Sharingan in this world than there should be. The consequences will start to make themselves known and maybe this is one of them,” he tried, still wrapping his head around some of the finer details of the situation, many of which were lost on them. Kadeshi hummed in response, busying himself with starting some rice in a cooker they had just bought.

“What if there weren’t too many?” he asked but Naru was quick to deny the proposition, practically jumping off of the couch and marching into the kitchen.

“You need both of your eyes right now. We can figure that out later, after Kannabi Bridge. We knew this was coming, right? I’m amazed we’ve made it this far but we knew we wouldn’t be able to tamper without consequence so we can’t stop now,” he insisted. “All we can do is adjust and keep going.” Kadeshi was quiet for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It will only get worse, our luck and our odds. We’ll have to make some sacrifices at the end of all of this,” he said. “It’s best that we’re both prepared for when that time comes.” Naru patted his shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“I’ve known that for a while, don’t worry about me,” he said, trying to be reassuring. The sound of the front door opening immediately postponed any further discussion until later.

Kakashi looked at the key in his hand, turning the metal piece over and over until it was warm to the touch. The day’s training had ended nearly an hour earlier, and Minato’s words to him were still swimming around in his mind. His initial response to his newest “challenge” was anger, but as time passed, he thought of the task with more exasperation than anything else. His uncle and student were a joke, but he would have to put up with them if he wanted to take the Exams.

The hard part came when found himself on the doorstep of his childhood home yet again. This time Minato wasn’t there to catch him if he passed out before he could cross the doorstep. His hands curled into fists when he remembered the episode, frustrated and even a bit embarrassed about showing such weakness in front of anyone, even his own sensei. He had no doubt that his previous visit to the Hatake estate had influenced his mentor’s decision to make him stay with Kadeshi and Naru.

There was one thing that made him more interested than anything else, however, and it made his task a little less unbearable. Kakashi respected Minato’s insight and his ability to read other people, especially other shinobi. What Kakashi couldn’t comprehend was the strength that his sensei saw in both Naru and Kadeshi. Kakashi himself couldn’t see it, and that bothered him more than he would care to admit to anyone.

_ ‘Their strength must be subtle, hiding underneath rather than at the surface. Look underneath the underneath, like Minato-sensei always says. I’ll just have to weasel it out of them in the next week and prove that I’m more than ready to be a Jonin,’ _ he told himself, striding forward until he was within reach of the door only to pause once more. He looked up at the house and the key slipped out of his fingers.

The air was warm for early evening, and there were lights on inside. Kakashi could feel Naru and Kadeshi’s chakra, moving about and mingling within the walls. For the first time in years, the house was alive, welcoming even. It wasn’t cold and dark like he knew it to be, not anymore.

He scooped the key off the ground and fit it into the lock with ease. The lock turned and he pushed the door open. It creaked terribly on old hinges, but Kakashi ignored it in favor of pressing on. The first scent he caught was wildflowers, the same ones that he remembered used to grow in the backyard. The first thing he saw were shoes lined up in the entryway and a couple jackets hanging on the hooks by the door.

“Kakashi-kun?” his Uncle called, poking his head around the corner that led into the kitchen. The young shinobi stared at him for a moment, but there was no ghostly image of his father to superimpose over the top of Kadeshi’s face.

_ ‘Was it really this easy? For all that time I spent shivering on the doorstep?’ _ Kakashi thought to himself, ready to get lost in his memories, but Kadeshi stopped him before he could really get going.

“Kakashi-kun, is everything alright?” he asked softly, showing some genuine concern but not to the point of babying his nephew. Kakashi nodded slowly, looking around one last time in a daze before remembering his intentions and bowing his head.

“May I join you for dinner?” he asked politely, though he was a little stiff about it. Kadeshi smiled and dipped his head.

“Of course,” he said easily, but he could see that Kakashi was still trying to control his urge to walk around. “Take your time, we’ll be in the kitchen when you’re ready.” Whether or not Kakashi actually heard him, Kadeshi would never know, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t have to worry about the younger version of himself. Naru would be able to tell him how the boy was truly feeling but he himself would guess that for the first time in a long time, Kakashi was feeling more curiosity than trepidation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm officially back from hiatus! Sorry to keep you all waiting, I hope you liked this chapter. The ideas are rolling again so I'm hoping to make some serious progress while I'm feeling motivated. As always, leave a comment or a kudo and tell me what you think!
> 
> P.S. Does anyone have recommendations for a collection that I could add this fic to?


	20. Intermission pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Credit goes to the creator Masashi Kishimoto.

**Hatake Estate- The Next Morning**

_Days Remaining Until Naru’s Match: 6_

Kadeshi found himself with a moment of peace and quiet for what felt like the first time since he and Naru slipped through the cruel fingers of time. Naru had returned to the training field with Rin and Minato to continue working on his Taijutsu but Kadeshi also suspected he was trying to worm some wind-natured techniques out of Minato. Now that his chakra reserves were back to full capacity, Naru would be more than eager to work on his Ninjutsu again.

Kakashi had left after a relatively uneventful meal the night before and didn’t run out the door as soon as he finished so the elder assumed that they hadn’t done anything wrong. Kadeshi wasn’t sure if he should expect his nephew to show up at the Estate or go straight back to training like normal, so he decided to savor the moment of solitude and let his feet carry him to the open lawn behind the house that he could remember training in as a young boy. Kadeshi stuck his hand in his pocket and felt his father’s cool medallion weighing it down.

He fished it out and stared intently at the clan symbol stamped on the otherwise smooth surface. The token itself was a single molded piece made of pure silver, highly conductive. Any Raiton chakra that it came in contact with would travel straight to the amplifiers inside of the medallion and become tangible energy that could do quite a bit of damage on the way back out.

Kadeshi gathered his chakra slowly, paying close attention to where it moved in his body as he pushed it towards his right hand. It migrated from his core out to his arm, passing through every invisible chakra point that he knew he had until his fingers started glowing a faint blue, thrumming with energy. He closed his one eye and concentrated on manipulating the nature of his chakra, stretching and condensing it until sparks of Raiton chakra leapt into the medallion from his palm. The medallion quickly sucked in his chakra before spitting it back out in raw bolts that electrified the air around him.

Kadeshi was incredibly careful about cushioning his hand with a layer of chakra that would repel any of his weaponized Raiton energy as he maintained the flow. Soon enough, he felt the initial random bursts of electricity even out into pulsing waves that he slowly drew in around his body. His chakra flowed up and out, a steady pull from his toes to the very tips of his fingers. The lightning crawled the opposite direction, riding over the top of the chakra that flowed underneath his skin. He still needed much more practice to master the technique so that he could amplify his Raiton chakra to the point that it became a weapon that wouldn’t harm himself at the same time.

With the medallion, he could utilize a small stream of chakra rather than eating away large chunks of his reserves with a full blown jutsu. The only problem was that it was hard to conceal such an attack and was better suited as a tool used in open combat rather than stealth operations. For the moment, Kadeshi and Naru were not planning assassinations so the worry did not apply to him just yet.

“You never did tell me where you came across one of our family heirlooms,” Kakashi’s young voice called out to him. Kadeshi was careful not to let his surprise show on his face, but the sudden expansion of his lightning cloak might have been telling enough. Cutting off the flow of chakra into the medallion made the energy dissipate quickly and Kadeshi was able to greet his nephew properly.

“Your father left it with an old friend that I happened upon by accident. I helped him out with some local thugs and he gave it to me as a sign of his appreciation. I was rather excited at first to use it but the damn thing gave me quite a bit of trouble before I finally figured it out,” he said with a laugh, tossing the warmed piece of metal over to Kakashi. The boy caught it easily and took a minute to inspect it more closely now that he had the opportunity.

Much to his displeasure, there was no easy indicator of what it was or what it could do just from looking at the exterior of the medallion. The piece was also solid, there weren’t any lids or latches to move that would reveal some unique internal mechanisms that explained it’s function. He pushed some of his chakra into the metal, like he assumed Kadeshi had done, but dropped the medallion with a hiss when his own chakra came right back and shocked him rather aggressively.

“What the hell is this thing?” he grumbled, nudging it on the ground with the toe of his sandal. Kadeshi laughed and bent to retrieve it, wiping some dirt off of its surface with one of his pant legs.

“I’ve lost count of the number of times I asked myself the same thing,” he admitted in good spirits. What he wouldn’t be admitting was the fact that he had figured out the medallion’s secret right away by using his Sharingan to watch the flow of chakra inside of the token. From there he figured out how to work around the backlash of the medallion’s amplifier and create a loop of chakra that would allow him to feed the silver and cloak himself at the same time. That had been the hard part, and the one that Kadeshi wouldn’t tell Kakashi until much later.

“Would you like to learn how to use it?” he asked his younger self. Kakashi cocked an eyebrow and gave him a look that Kadeshi could only think to describe as dubious.

“I thought I had to wait until the end of your rehabilitation or whatever it is before you would teach me anything about it. That was our deal, wasn’t it?” he pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest. Kadeshi shrugged and tossed the medallion so that it flipped end over end in midair.

“I suppose I did say that. Well, the way I see it, I won’t give it to you just yet but who am I to control what you do and don’t learn while you’re hanging around?” he hinted, catching the token and sending a controlled wave of chakra through the silver. The resulting starburst of electricity radiating from his hand was more than enough to draw Kakashi’s eyes. He nodded, resolute.

“Alright, how does it work?” he asked, uncrossing his arms and giving his elder his full attention. Kadeshi smiled to himself, grateful that he, no matter the age, was never one to waste a good learning opportunity.

**Training Ground 7**

Jiraiya wandered into Team Minato’s training field with every intention of seeing how things were moving along with the recovery and rehabilitation of their newest additions to the village. It was a simple, check in and check out kind of task. The rest of his day had already been dedicated to scouting out the local spas that hadn’t already banned him from their establishments.

What he didn’t expect was to find Minato relentlessly attacking his gentle little medic while Naru sat cross legged in the grass off to the side, lost in his own world. All of the pieces belonged in the picture, but none of them seemed to be in the right place.

“Good morning, Jiraiya-sama!” Naru called, waving to him with a bright smile. Jiraiya smiled softly in return, approaching the young blond and standing beside him while they both watched Rin try and fend off her sensei’s quick advances. Naru couldn’t help but appreciate the fluidity of Minato’s movements, and how quickly he was able to change directions and flip around Rin’s counters while maintaining an impressive amount of power behind his own strikes.

“How long have they been going at it like that?” Jiraiya asked after a moment of silence, whistling softly when Rin rolled to the side just in time to miss Minato’s fist slamming into the ground. Naru hummed, wincing when Rin didn’t miss the next swipe. She skidded back across the dirt and when she finally came to a stop her chest was heaving with exertion. Minato gave her a few seconds to compose herself and tap out if she was at her limit, but when her head whipped up, her eyes were still sharp. Minato smirked in response and they continued on without a word passing between them.

“About twenty minutes I’d say,” Naru finally answered, surprising Jiraiya. At the pace they were going, Rin needed a lot more stamina than the Sannin thought she had to be able to keep up with Minato. Granted, his student was dialing back on his true ability, but they were by no means crawling either. “Rin-chan asked Minato-san to help her with Taijutsu so we spent an hour or two working on grappling and submission techniques earlier. She has to last at least half an hour sparring against him and then they’ll pause to break down mistakes, suggest improvements, and then it’s back to sparring,” he explained.

Jiraiya saw the logic in pairing Rin up with a far superior opponent who could push her limits and give her good experience in the moment and then help analyze the results afterwards. Enough of that kind of training would sharpen her instincts, especially against an opponent that wasn’t so friendly.

“What are you doing, then? Waiting for your turn?” Jiraiya asked fondly, having already noticed that Kakashi and super sized clone were nowhere to be seen. Naru shrugged, pulling himself to his feet.

“I’ve been wanting to speak with you, actually,” he said, his bright grin absent for the moment. “Would you take a walk with me?” Jiraiya was certainly intrigued about what the boy could possibly want to discuss with him and readily agreed, figuring Minato and Rin were otherwise occupied. He was there to keep tabs on their newest guest anyways.

They strolled together through the streets of Konoha, silent except for the occasional greeting given to the Sannin. The older man was surprised to find the silence between them comfortable, rather than strained. A glance over confirmed that Naru was relaxed at his side, hands tucked neatly in his pockets as they walked.

“I've been thinking about my senjutsu a lot lately, Jiraiya-sama,” Naru started off, voice even. “If I am to be a shinobi of this village, I need to be trusted by her people. I fear that my abilities will push people away rather than bring them nearer, but I am curious about what you believe. Does my senjutsu scare you?” Naru asked him. Jiraiya didn’t answer for a minute or two, gathering his thoughts. Finally, he sighed, expelling a good amount of air from his lungs.

“No, your senjutsu does not scare _me_. It is powerful but it is something that I understand. The same is not true for many of those around you. It will frighten many of the villagers, those civilians and shinobi who do not know you as well as those who will always consider you to be an outsider,” he answered honestly, right as a novel thought occurred to him. “Will you share your sage energy with me, like you did back in the hospital?” Naru blinked, caught a little off guard by the request but agreed nonetheless.

“Is it ok to do that right in the middle of the street?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck and looking out over the crowd that had gradually started appearing the closer they got to the center of the village. Jiraiya nodded without missing a beat.

“You have shown magnificent control in a crowded area before, you should be able to do the same here among all of these civilians. Prove to me that your senjutsu is not so dangerous that its use can only be restricted to a battlefield,” he challenged the young blond. Naru held his gaze before blowing out a breath of his own.

“Make sure I don’t run into anyone,” he requested, closing his eyes as they carried on walking. Jiraiya felt the sun on his face grow warmer, a gentle breeze stirring the air and ruffling Naru’s hair before it settled over the both of them. He extended his own conscience and found the wealth of energy where Naru was waiting for him. At once, their respective sage markings appeared and Naru’s crimson eyes fluttered open, a smile spreading over his lips.

Jiraiya felt the energy in his body flowing smoothly, far more controlled than he had ever been capable of making it. He couldn’t help but reach out and feel everything that normal shinobi would never be able to experience. He felt the trees at the edge of the village swaying in the wind, breathing just like any other animal. The people surrounding them were a mix of calm and bustle. Some people were running late for their engagements, while others were content to amble about in the streets, greeting friends and enjoying themselves.

“Sage mode is something that even I struggle to master, and it is a terrible power to be on the wrong side of, both for the user and their opponents,” Jiraiya said softly, not eager to disrupt any passersby with the growing heaviness of their conversation. “But you have been accepted even by my own sensei, so I know that you are capable of using your senjutsu wisely.” He turned his head, red eyes meeting gold, and looked _into_ Naru.

Naru himself felt unique from the civilians and, Jiraiya guessed, he would feel different than most shinobi should he look through them with senjutsu. He was notably content, both inside and out, but the insight of sage mode stripped away any defenses he could have built until Jiraiya could feel the undercurrent of trepidation running through his mind. There were so many possible causes of that discomfort, one of which Jiraiya openly confronted him about.

“You feel worried. Is it because you’re hiding something and you’re scared of being caught?” he asked bluntly. As soon as the Sannin opened his mouth, mind riddled with genuine curiosity, Naru knew that he would have to tread carefully. The question still managed to take him by surprise though and made his heart skip a beat, something that Jiraiya easily could have felt if he was paying close enough attention.

“Yes, I am afraid,” Naru admitted, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up now that he had finally said it out loud with nowhere to hide. “But not of being caught,” he added. Jiraiya could feel that his answer was honest, and ruled out the possibility of him lying while they were both using senjutsu. Naru would know better than to try and lie to him when he himself understood just how expressive people could be when placed before the right eyes. Sages saw everything, and Jiraiya was not a novice at understanding how senjutsu worked.

“What are you afraid of, Naru-kun?” Jiraiya pressed gently, trying to coax more of the truth out of him. Naru frowned, looking up and watching a lone cloud move languidly across the ocean in the sky. His hand came up slowly, ghosting over his stomach, an action that immediately caught Jiraiya’s eye, but he waited and watched as Naru’s hand continued to slide up until he was clutching at his chest right where his heart was beating. The blond was too caught up in his own thoughts to have picked up on Jiraiya’s momentary flash of suspicion.

“I’m afraid that I won’t be enough. Afraid that someday I’ll grow used to the feeling of being _empty_ ,” he said so quietly that it nearly came out as a whisper. Jiraiya frowned at that, seeing the immense contrast between the melancholic shinobi standing next to him and the energetic young man that had caught his attention with exceptional abilities. There were a lot of questions to be drawn from such an answer, but they didn’t have time. Right as it occurred to Jiraiya that senjutsu required clear thoughts and concentration, his sage mode failed. Naru’s markings faded into nothing and he snapped out of whatever daze he had put himself in.

“I-I’m sorry, Jiraiya-sama. I shouldn’t have gotten myself so upset,” he said with a bow, plastering a sheepish smile on his face. The Sannin had seen the same despair in many of his own comrades, hiding underneath positivity, and figured there was one question appropriate to ask.

“You lost someone precious to you, I take it?” he guessed, gently catching Naru’s elbow to guide him down a less-populated street. The blond silently appreciated the gesture, struggling to remain composed and layer on his defenses now that they had been unexpectedly shattered.

“Yeah, I did. My partner,” he answered softly, solemnly. “The war took him in the end just like it takes everyone.” Jiraiya understood his sentiments dearly for he had felt them many times himself.

“Have you-” their conversation came to an abrupt end as an ANBU appeared beside them, having jumped down from the rooftops overlooking the street. He knelt next to the Sannin and spoke clearly.

“Jiraiya-sama, Hokage-sama has requested your presence,” he said shortly, remaining in place without any indication that he was leaving without the recipient of his urgent message. Jiraiya knew that it wasn’t the right time to leave, but he also knew his sensei wouldn’t have called for him unless it was an emergency. He turned to offer a word of parting and condolences to Naru, but the blond held up a hand, stopping him before he could even get going.

“Until next time, Jiraiya-sama. Thank you for walking with me,” he said, turning on his heel and returning the way they had already come. His hands were folded behind his back and his head was tipped up towards the sky. Every line of his body was written with sorrow, and Jiraiya hoped that whatever he had dragged up wouldn’t hurt the boy too bad. 

**Hatake Estate- the Next Day**

_Days Remaining Until Naru’s Match: 5_

“Morning, sensei,” Naru grumbled as he shuffled into the kitchen for the first time that day. It was barely six in the morning, and the sun was just starting to lighten the dark sky outside. Kadeshi was leaning over the counter with a second-class porno open in front of him. He lifted his cup of coffee in greeting but never took his eyes away from the pages. Naru snorted at his back, rooting through the fridge.

“I don’t know why you’re reading that garbage. Are you that desperate for some action?” he jabbed, finally drawing Kadeshi away from the novel.

“Do you think I’m proud of being reduced to reading anything but the good stuff?” he said with a grimace. “Jiraiya-sama hasn’t written any of his masterpieces yet so this is the next best thing I could find, alright?” he shot back, making Naru laugh. Kakashi entered the kitchen next, already dressed and ready for the day. He greeted Naru with a wordless glance and Kadeshi with a wordless nod, earning an eye roll from the blond standing behind him.

“Are you going to join Minato-san and Rin-chan for training this morning?” Naru asked either of them, considering Kakashi’s schedule as of late revolved around Kadeshi’s answer. The elder Hatake stashed his porno in one of his pockets after Kakashi finally noticed it, glaring daggers into his Uncle’s head.

“I think so, it’s been far too long since Minato-san and I have gotten to complain about our unruly students,” he quipped, dodging Naru’s glare now that it had been added to Kakashi’s. “What about you, my precious student?” The blond huffed, crossing his arms over his chest but quickly gave up the act, letting the pretense fall away.

“I wanted to stay here for the morning and meditate. There’s some things I need to do and it’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit and relax with my senjutsu, which I shouldn’t make a habit of. I’ll catch up with you eventually,” he added, swiping an apple off the counter and meandering into another room of the house.

“Kakashi-kun?” his Uncle called expectantly. The boy sighed, fixing his mask and turning back to face his elder, a finished bowl of cereal sitting on the counter behind him. Kadeshi held back any comments about the dangers of eating too fast, figuring they would go unappreciated.

“I’m ready now so I’ll go on ahead and warm up,” Kakashi decided, gathering the last of his things and getting ready to leave. Kadeshi waved him off from the doorstep and received a glance over the shoulder for his troubles. It was better than being ignored, which was what he expected to happen. Chuckling to himself, Kadeshi retreated into the house and started ducking his head into rooms to look for Naru. He didn’t find him until he had ended up all the way in the back lawn surrounded by flowers and fresh air.

_‘I probably could have checked here first,’_ he thought lamely, absently scratching at his nose. “Is everything alright, Naru?” Kadeshi asked, coming up behind the blond who was sitting cross legged in the grass. “You’ve been worried about something since yesterday after your walk with Jiraiya-sama,” he pointed out, rubbing Naru’s shoulder comfortingly as he mentally recounted the details that had been shared with him about the encounter. Naru had gone to bed before him the previous night but his demeanor all throughout the day had been somber. He never returned to training either, seeking out his own company rather than Team Minato’s or even Kadeshi’s.

“As right as it can be, sensei,” he answered evenly, the thick red lines on his face forming slowly. “I just need to calm myself down and refocus, that’s all.” Something was bothering Kadeshi, though. It was an instinct that he had discovered only after becoming a Jonin sensei with children to look after, one that told him not to leave just yet. He sat in the grass and leaned his back against Naru’s, waiting.

Naru wasn’t disturbed in the slightest by Kadeshi’s presence, figuring the other man knew something was up with him. Kadeshi wouldn’t be able to pinpoint anything so specifically like Jiraiya had without senjutsu, but somehow he always knew when to stay close by. He always knew when Naru was getting close to the edge.

He pushed those negative thoughts from his mind and relaxed, feeling the village through sage energy. He traveled up and down every street, his presence tickling the senses of some finer-tuned animals. Out of respect for the Inuzuka’s, he stayed away from their compound. Their hounds were usually able to recognize senjutsu and he hadn’t yet been introduced to them, so a stranger floating around on the breeze might present some danger to them, not that he was there to cause any.

Naru kept wandering, feeling emotions aplenty from all kinds and classes of people, shinobi or not. He brushed by the Hokage’s tower and felt the Sandaime, easily imagining a cloud of dread hanging over the poor old man’s head as he was likely confined to his desk by a thick stack of paperwork. That brought a smile to his lips, feeling the Sandaime so expressive and _alive_.

As he continued on, his senses took him to what he remembered to be an old residential area on the far side of the village. Some birds called out to him and he approached them, intrigued by the small gathering right outside of someone’s apartment. Naru’s heart almost leapt out of his chest when he realized who was there on the other side of the glass.

It was a young woman with a brilliant red aura that was passionate and layered with emotion, unabashed and honest. Next to her was a man with a vibrant yellow aura that still seemed to pale in comparison. Their feelings shifted as they talked, all of them pleasant to be near as they mixed effortlessly, just like they were always meant to. Naru pressed closer to Uzumaki Kushina, sensing her happiness and easing some of his own dread just by feeling the absence of hers. He had grown used to Minato’s presence, but feeling his parents together was something new that he could appreciate.

He lingered next to Kushina for a quiet moment, forgetting Kadeshi’s presence altogether while his mother was so close. He wondered why he had waited so long to seek her out before reminding himself that it was dangerous to be around Kushina. She was still a jinchuuriki and they didn’t need any more suspicion levied against them, especially when his body still held a seal strong enough to contain the Kyuubi.

Naru let out the breath that he had been holding, but before he could leave, a strong pulse within Kushina’s bright aura brought him to a screeching halt. He jumped when the flare returned, this time strong enough to flood Kushina’s aura with discomfort and a not so subtle flash of fear. Minato’s yellow presence exploded with worry, alarmed at the sudden pain he no doubt saw written on the face of his beloved. Naru’s pulse started racing and he felt Kushina control her own panic before smothering the Kyuubi inside of her right before Minato could intervene. It was too late though, Naru had felt the beast rearing its head with fury.

Naru retreated quickly, his eyes flying open with a gasp as he shot to his feet, hands bunched up in golden locks. He had seen the Kyuubi, and likely coaxed him out with his invisible presence; whether it was intention or not it didn’t matter. Kadeshi was in front of him then, hand hovering over his shoulder, waiting to proceed as he knew Naru was especially sensitive when he was working with senjutsu. The red markings faded from his face after Naru’s control had been yanked away from him and his sensei deemed it safe to proceed.

“What was that? Are you alright?” Kadeshi asked softly, pulling a dazed Naru into the house and a more private setting with an arm wrapped around his shoulders. The blond sank into a chair, opening and closing his mouth a few times, but no coherent words came forth. His eyes filled with tears and a hoarse whisper wrenched itself from his throat.

“S-sensei… it was _him_ . I felt him, he was right there in… in my _mom_ ,” he forced out, burying his face in his hands now that Kadeshi had enough context to understand why his student was so distraught. He knelt in front of Naru and squeezed his knee before reaching up and smoothing some of the hair out of his face. He steeled his heart and said what he felt his student needed to hear.

“No, he wasn’t,” he answered softly. Naru’s face whipped up and he stared right into Kadeshi’s dark eye, such a stark contrast from his own glassy orbs. He found no sign of jesting, only cold truth. “Someday he might change, but he will never be your Kurama. You know that, Naru, you cannot change what has already happened.” When the Bijuu’s name left his lips, Naru flinched violently, stirred into anguish just at the sound of it.

“That’s _bullshit_! That’s why we’re here, to change everything!” Naru growled, standing quickly and pushing Kadeshi back in a burst of anger. The Hatake was careful about keeping his balance, standing straight and making sure his posture stayed relaxed even though Naru was coiled tense like a spring; a snake waiting to strike.

“You’re right, that’s why we’re here, but we don’t have another do-over. That was a one-time deal and Kurama was willing to take a chance on us. He gave himself up for us, for _you_ , Naru,” Kadeshi said, his voice firm, ringing clearly through the room. His tone was gentle though, controlled as it needed to be in that moment. “I don’t know the feeling of the bond that you shared, but I _do_ know that he needs you to be strong. _Kurama_ needs you to push through and make good on what we all promised to do.” Tears ran freely down Naru’s face and he hiccuped, choking on his words at first.

“My strength didn’t save Kurama, or our friends and our village,” Naru said, aching inside and out. It was then that Kadeshi realized the problem. After all of the time they had spent running from the war while it swallowed up everything they had, they had never once taken the chance to grieve. Even after returning to the past, they were thrown from one group to the next, never quite having enough time to themselves to process everything that had happened and express what they wouldn’t dare think of feeling before. “How can I walk those streets and smile at people who are dead, knowing that I couldn’t save our Konoha?”

Kadeshi closed the distance between them and cupped the back of the teen’s neck, pulling him into his chest as wretched sobs wracked his body. It was the first time he would say he regretted not having both of his arms to hold him with. He rested Naru’s forehead on his shoulder and stroked at his nape, coaxing more emotion out of the blond.

“I’m not strong enough, Kakashi! I wasn’t strong enough when I had Kurama, either! I couldn’t even protect my partner, how can I swear to protect Konoha again?” he cried, heartbroken and lost. Kadeshi only held him tighter, understanding that sentiment. His mighty Sharingan had been useless in saving Rin when he had lost his Queen for the last time, it hadn’t helped him save Obito either when he decided it wasn’t Kadeshi’s time to die. Instead, it only helped him remember those dark spots in his memories with agonizing clarity.

“Kurama chose to give you another chance at life, Naruto. He loved you enough to give you another chance because nobody else would have gotten this far,” he responded clearly. “I can’t do this on my own either, that’s why I have you. I am here to be your strength when you need it so trust me now and let go.” Naru’s breath hitched, and Kadeshi felt his trembling hands bunch up in the back of his shirt. Naru bit into his lip, desperate to stifle his crying.

“Is it wrong for me to feel alone even though I have you here with me?” Naru whispered, going still as he waited for an answer. Kadeshi smiled, but he was glad Naru couldn’t see it because the faraway look in his own gaze made the expression so much sadder.

“You are the one who decides how deep your scars run. However far that may be, whatever it is that you are feeling, I will always be here to put you back together,” was all that he said, nothing more than a promise he prayed that he could keep. If he had one, he would have given it. Naru finally leaned into Kadeshi, sobbing harder into his chest as he finally accepted that Kurama was gone.

**Training Ground 7**

“What took you? Is everything alright?” Kakashi asked, turning his back on Kadeshi and pretending to not be interested even though he had initiated the conversation himself. Kadeshi’s lips quirked up at the corners, pleased in passing but still rather distracted by what had just unfolded. He ruffled Kakashi’s hair on his way by, stunning the boy into letting it happen.

“Just needed to have a little chat with Naru, he couldn’t get in the right mindset for his meditation,” he answered easily. Kakashi brushed a hand through his hair and attempted to scoff, staring at his back as he ambled farther away.

“It’s a miracle he can hold still long enough to even think about meditating,” Kakashi said strangely, still watching Kadeshi as the man chuckled softly in response to the quip.

“It still amazes me to this day,” he admitted, drawing his tanto once he was standing in his proper place. Kakashi was quick to follow, unsheathing his own blade. “Don’t go easy on me now, you’ve got your Exams coming up,” he reminded his nephew, who shook off the strangeness of the encounter and focused on the best way to cut through the elder’s defenses.

“You’re not that young anymore, sure you don’t need to warm up?” Kakashi threw out, testing the waters. Kadeshi held back a sigh and buried his worries, wanting nothing more than to let himself be swept up in their spar so he wouldn’t have to think about Naru who was home alone and sleeping soundly after his emotional break.

“I guess I’ll be coming to you. Prepare yourself,” he said, lunging forwards without any more warning. Kakashi met him halfway and wasn’t surprised to find that his Uncle was going hard, leaving little to no room for error in his movements. He didn’t have time to let his thoughts wander, not if he wanted to stay on his feet, as much as it pained him to admit it. Kadeshi was busy doing the same, losing himself to the match with one last passing thought.

_‘Keep your head up, Naru. We have much to do, but peace will come to both of us soon enough,’_ Kadeshi thought, doing his best to believe in his own words and hoping above all else that Naru would be alright in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think, and as always, thanks for reading!


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